Albus Potter and the Black Badger Society
by Bartimus Crotchety
Summary: His first year, he made a friend out of a potential enemy, carried the hopes of a downtrodden House, defeated a Dark Wizard with help, and made the House team at Chaser. Things are about to get difficult! This is the Next adventure of the Tenacious Trio
1. Chapter 1 About a Wand

I just wanted to thank JK for her world, and her continued generosity with it! These are her toys! I own any OC's that appear, they're MINE ALL MINE! BWahahahaaah! Sorry little touch of megalomania there. So enjoy my take on the continuing saga of the epilogue to DH.

**Chapter Notes:** Well here we are. The first chapter of the eagerly anticipated sequel to Year of the Badger. I won't say too much, I know you are eager to get started but there are a couple of things I need to go over.

**Schedule:** Because of the better quality of writing I am committed to with this project the once every week will most likely not be possible. I have decided that I need to be more succinct and better focused but at the same time give better descriptive paragraphs and that takes more time, I think the project will be better for it.

**Character Arcs:** There are going to be significant changes in the characters, one in particular. I may lose some readers over it because they are not used to these fictional characters being human. I have made a commitment to these guys that I will write them warts and all, what that means is that when they are not being nice or flattering I will still write the truth. This might mean that someone you care about becomes someone you don't like, and I can't promise they will come all the way back. That is what real humanity is like and that is why I write to reveal that. I hope you as the reader can give me the benefit of a doubt that I am making choices for the good of the story, and ones that will resonate better later on.

With no further conversation, here is the first chapter I hope you deem it worth the wait.

**You know I am still needy so R&R and keep the bunny going!**

**Bart**

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**Albus Potter and the Black Badger Society**

**Chapter1: About a Wand...**

Albus had always cherished Tri-W in Diagon Alley. He had visited all of the stores as they opened, including the newest branch in Cardiff, but the original store held a special place in his heart.

Some of his earliest memories were of toddling through these aisles being chased by Sweedy and his mum.

James once appreciated this store too. Of course now that he had an underground trade going at Hogwarts his perusal of the shelves was for new products to offer. Albus didn't even know if his brother even used Tri-W products any more. It was part of the enigma that was James Sirius Potter. As long as James left Albus alone he didn't dwell on it too much.

Albus enjoyed helping out when he could. He knew it was a geeky thing to do, but he loved the atmosphere of the place. Tri-W, Number ninety-three Diagon Alley now covered three storefronts. Uncle George had absorbed Magical Creatures Menagerie, and Hazel's Spectacular Used Cauldron Shop, after the elderly owners retired. George confided in Albus that he had paid nearly twice what the establishments were worth, but the good will created by such a move made up the difference. Now Tri-W in Diagon had a Magical Pets Department, and an Imported Cauldron Shoppe to offer the public. Of course the Magical Pets Department had its own built in advertisement with Albus's cousin Hugo out front protesting it. Uncle George had periodic meetings with the budding young crusader to discuss terms, but he managed to make sure that Hugo felt a need to picket as often as possible. It was a great way to get curb-side attention.

Albus was stacking the latest incarnation of _Even More Skiving Snack Boxes_ with all new _Cough-Up-A-Lung Cordials! _Suddenly he heard the door chime and a familiar chuckle. He didn't even bother to look around, he knew they would find their way to him soon enough.

"Master James and Master Fred!" Sweedy squeaked, probably accepting hugs from the two rogues in question.

"Alright there, Sweedy?" inquired the voice that Albus had grown to hate over the years.

"Very much indeed, Master James!"

"Where's my little brother?" came the sly request. Albus could imagine his handsome, athletic brother with the messy dark hair smiling his evil little grin as he anticipated torturing his younger sibling.

"I think he's working on aisle twelve at the moment, young master, can I take some orders down for you to take back to Hogwarts?"

"That won't be necessary," purred Fred, oozing the charm that kept his dance card full at Hogwarts. Albus could see the broad shouldered, caramel-skinned Fred, with his freckled nose, winking at Sweedy with that casual insouciance he always projected when he anticipated getting into trouble. Sweedy giggled girlishly, and then Albus heard her talking to another customer further across the shop, which meant Fred and James were en route. He briefly considered the invisibility cloak he had secreted in his robes, but his dad had asked him not to tell James. Suddenly disappearing would be a dead give-away.

He sighed, and started on a stack of _Aruba Daydream Charms_ which had a surprise hurricane in one box out of twelve. You would think that would scare people off, but it had actually helped sales. Yet another of Dinky's brainstorms. Of course the elf spent some time immobilized in St. Mungos' new Dobby the Elf magical creatures ward, developing it. That was fine with the little Elf, he seemed to enjoy being blown through the laboratory wall; Albus was told, as Uncle George made his way through the high winds and swirling rubble, a little hand broke through a pile of plaster and gave a thumbs up before going limp.

"Looky here, dear cousin, there's employee of the month!" James exclaimed loudly.

"Blimey, what a little worker he is! You know, that elf looks like your brother, James," Fred replied.

Albus made a rude gesture over his shoulder and opened a carton to stock _Manoeuvrable Morass: New and Improved and Methane Free!_ The latest version of _Portable Swamp._It was something Uncle George developed when he discovered that people wanted a _Portable Swamp_ that had less of a stench.

"That wasn't nice, Albus. I am appalled to think that you and I came out of the same womb!" said James airily.

"That makes two of us, James," Albus shot back. He still had yet to turn around, hoping the two would get bored and wander off. He kept telling himself, _three days to Hogwarts, just three more days to Hogwarts._ He knew that since Fred had somehow managed a Prefect badge, along with Dominique, that he was probably going to endure some abuse-of-power pranks this year, but he still missed The Cellar and his cosy Hufflepuff bed away from the reach of his brother and cousin.

"Albus? I believe it's time for your break," remarked a voice that belonged to his Aunt Angel.

Albus finally turned around. Fred and James were standing stiffly with a look of sudden terror on their faces. Aunt Angelina was standing just beyond them with her arms crossed, her hair in elaborate plaits done up with white beads. Her warm caramel-brown eyes bored into her son's back with exasperation. She was married to a clown, and was the mother of one of the biggest pranksters, but Aunt Angel was no pushover.

"Fred? I believe you told me you were coming by to help in the shop today, how nice, you brought some help."

Albus saw behind Aunt Angel, the instigator of this little scene. His cousin Roxanne, looking like a miniature of her mum, but with freckles and her hair worn long. She was smiling at her brother and cousin's discomfort. Albus never understood where his cousin Roxy developed her need-to-inform-adults from, but he had heard rumours she got it from her Uncle Percy. Usually it was annoying, but this time it worked in Albus's favour.

Aunt Angel smile brilliantly, it was the one she used in Tri-W advertisements, and one that had graced Quidditch magazine covers before she had retired from the Magpies. "I just realized that we haven't cleaned out the cages in the Magical Creatures Menagerie this month! That's an all-day job for you guys!"

"Muuuuum!" Fred whined, but it was a defeated sound. James seemed to be inching away, but Fred grabbed his arm before he could escape.

Albus smirked as he walked by. Aunt Angel stopped him a moment and handed him a couple galleons, "Flossy Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour has this wonderful dish called a Chocolate Caramel Cherry Cauldron Surprise, bring me and Roxy back one of those, it's too many calories for one person, get yourself a double dip cone while you're there, see if little Hugo wants to go, I think he's protesting our mistreatment of Kneazle kittens this week." Albus nodded and glanced back as she pointed the direction of the menagerie out to the two boys, and held out her hand for their wands. They handed them over and trudged off shooting evil looks at Roxy.

Albus was nearly to the door when the little red Dinky Alert light came on.

Sweedy was calmly walking around handing out earplugs from her little apron, for anyone in the store. She handed Albus a pair and he got them in his ear before the red light went out.

Boom!

A muffled explosion rumbled through the sturdily constructed building. They all watched the door to the laboratory until the light went green. Sweedy smiled and accepted the earplugs back with apologies. Albus had to smile and shake his head ruefully.

The laboratory door popped open and accompanied by a cloud of dark smoke that quickly dissipated, was a singed little elf with goggles on his eyes, a thick rubber apron and gloves up to his little bony elbows. Another larger head peeked out checking for damage, belonging to his Uncle George. His short spiked red hair was nearly unrecognizable under the soot, his fake ear hanging loose; his eyes were the only part of his face not blackened as he slipped the goggles back on his head, leaving clean spots around his eyes. He saw Albus by the door and waved with that old up-to-something grin plastered on his face. Dinky gave Albus a salute then turned to go back inside with his boss, who was offering possible reasons why their latest project blew up, while replacing his ear. His voice was cut off by the shutting of the thick, reinforced door.

Tri-W had the most spectacular fireworks in the Isles, and the reason for that was the dusty little elf now closing the laboratory door. If the light didn't go back to green, but blinked red then they would have gone in after him with a first-aid kit. St. Mungos now had two volumes of medical records on Dinky, and working on a third. Dinky was lucky. Most elves with Elven Voluntary Punishment Syndrome didn't live long.

EVPS was a relatively new diagnosis, seeing as nobody really looked after Elvish health and welfare for many years. When people began to pay attention to the elves behaviour they found out that some of them, upon punishing themselves, actually got addicted to it. Dinky had been turned out on the streets as a very young elf with this defect, and Sweedy, his sister, left her employment to look after him. They both found a place at Tri-W and had been there ever since.

It was a little known fact, outside of the family, that not only was Sweedy the top salesperson, and Dinky the chief product developer, but they were both part owners. Uncle George had signed over part of his business to them when elves recently attained legal status. This would have been highly controversial in wizard circles so George kept it quiet, for their welfare and his own.

Dinky and Sweedy didn't really require a lot to live off of, so they lived in the apartments over the store that formerly belonged to Uncle George and his late twin Fred. They where the wealthiest elves in all of England, but things like that didn't matter to them nearly as much as a place to live, to work, and to be respected.

Albus walked out the doors into the sunlit street of Diagon Alley.

It was the same cavalcade of sights and sounds as always but it never failed to enchant Albus.

From the glitzy displays of the latest brooms showing in the window of Quintessential Quidditch Supplies, to the myriad amazingly brilliant covers of the latest best sellers in the display at Flourish & Blotts. It might have seemed just noise to most people, but Albus heard a subtle symphony of life and purpose that he found comforting in the cacophony of sound. There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments, windows stacked with barrels of troll bladders and spider hair, tottering piles of used spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the solar system with actual rotating planets …

"Save the Kneazle kittens! Show these owners there is no profit to be made from the capture and selling of these innocent creatures."

Albus saw his cousin Hugo holding up yet another homemade sign. This one read "Kneazles Need Love Too!" It was accompanied by a pretty amazing picture of a cuddly little kitten with eyes so life like that it was impossible not to smile. Albus could recognize his sister's handiwork anywhere. Lily sometimes helped Hugo out with his "projects" but Albus knew she was shopping with Aunt Hermione and Rose today. They had left Hugo to his crusade knowing he would be looked after by the very relatives he was attempting to thwart. He was in short a "mini" version of Uncle Ron, right down to the man-sized appetite and Weasley-red hair. Inside, though, he exasperated his father with his causes; leading Uncle Ron to tell Aunt Hermione on more than one occasion, "I don't know why he did that, he's your son!"

"Behold these hapless magical animals, doomed to spend their days in cages when they should be free!" Albus saw the people who Hugo had waylaid did indeed look at the adorable balls of fur in question in the window display, just as Uncle George had intended. Most if not all went on into the store, to "rescue" one with their money. Hugo smiled in a self-congratulatory manner, not realizing he was expediting the very thing he was seeking to thwart. Albus had to smile, Uncle George might be fun loving and child-like, but he is no fool.

"Hey Hughie, I'm heading down to Flossy's, want to come along or have me bring you something back?" Albus called.

Hugo looked disgusted, "I will not be bought off by a collaborator." Albus sighed. Hugo definitely got his vocabulary from his mum, and his pig-headed passionate streak from his dad. "Aunt Angelina gave me the money, she told me to ask you." "You expect me to accept ice cream bought with the money of the oppressors?" Hugo asked aghast. Albus smiled. "Consider this taking profit out of their pockets; it's a form of protest." Hugo smiled slyly. "When you put it that way, bring me back a Brazilian Nut Date sugar cone, with extra sprinkles, I got to remain at my post."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Suit yourself," he said as he walked by. Hugo went back to protesting/advertising.

It had been a long summer punctuated at times by visits by his new best friend Scorpius Malfoy. Included in those visits was one memorable adventure to Malfoy Manor. It was nearly as big as Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione's mansion, Black Briar Manor, but twice as cold and antiseptic. Scorpius's grandparents had agreed to a re-marriage, so that was held a month ago, and the write up in The Prophet was disgustingly glowing. There was a picture of the _happy_ couple sneering at the camera along with Scorpius' dad, Draco and his tipsy wife Astoria, who may have gotten a little too much into the open bar. Draco had his hand on the back of Scorpius's dress robes restraining his son as he attempted to make a break for it. For the Malfoys it was almost a family moment. It made Albus's skin crawl, but it was where his friend came from. The Prophet had been so glowing towards the newly resurrected Malfoys that Scorpius was asked for interviews almost as much as Albus was the last time they walked Diagon. He was supposed to meet up with his pal tomorrow so they could get their Hogwarts supplies and celebrate his birthday. Rose was getting hers today at her insistence; she wanted to get a jump on her biggest rival before the start of class. That rival was also one of her closest friends, and it also happened to be Scorpius. _The Tenacious Trio_ definitely had a strange chemistry!

It wasn't too far of a walk; Flossy's Ice Cream Parlour was just across from the intimidating marble and towering columns of Gringotts Wizarding Bank. He glanced over and saw several goblins congregating around. He had met a goblin this last year, the new defacto caretaker of Hogwarts, and he found he didn't like them too much.

He was being called to by the window display at Flourish & Blotts, the cover photograph was of some lady named Lavender Brown. The book was called _My Life with Won-Won_. Aunt Hermione had really gotten steamed over it for some reason. She had gone straight over to the store to ask for the author's signing date. Uncle Ron had taken one look at it and turned so pale his freckles looked like pox marks against his skin. Albus thought that they were acting strange, but he was instructed by his mum to not bring up the subject, or read the book. James and Fred had of course secreted a copy, but after they read it they burnt it in Grimmauld's fireplace, and answered Albus' inquiries with the lofty statement, "some things are better left unknown!"

"Mister Potter?" a creepy too-knowing voice came to his ears, from beside of him.

Like a scene from a muggle horror movie he had seen on Uncle Ron's telly, Albus turned to see the owner of that familiar voice sitting on a bench just outside of the wand Shoppe.

He suddenly heard that voice saying something entirely different just the year before...

_"Made of Rowan, eleven inches, medium springy. It's one of the wands I acquired from Gregorovitch's widow. I've never found the young wizard to whom it belonged, though."_

_The man speaking those words was the old man Ollivander, himself. His nieces and nephew ran the shop, but when he heard that Harry Potter's youngest son was in the store, and had gone through every wand in stock, he came hobbling out. His bright silver mooneyes studied Albus with a calculation to make your skin crawl. In his claw-like hand, he carried a well-worn slender box, from which he pulled out a long and tapered, intricately carved dark wood wand. Albus's first thought had been that it was beautiful. His hand warmed as soon as he came into contact with it and his shoulder that was sore from swishing and flicking countless wands suddenly felt fine. He flicked it and so many sparks came out it set a workbench on fire._

_Ollivander had his wand already out and performed an Aguamenti spell to put it out. Albus stared, stunned, at the wand in his hand. In the carving he picked out a monster. It had a lion's head, dragon's body, a snake for a tail and it breathed fire._

_"That wand, young man," Ollivander wheezed, "is the only Chimera scale wand I have ever laid eyes on, very powerful."_

_He looked over Albus, to his father and said with an eerie finality, "I think we can expect great things from this son, Mister Potter."_

Now that very man was studying him again from the shade of the awning over the front of the shop with that same eerie intensity and it made Albus's stomach roll uncomfortably.

"Come on over Mister Potter, let's visit a while, you and I," he said, smiling in a way that was probably supposed to be comforting, but made Albus want to run away.

Albus could hear his mum say, "Talk to the man, don't be rude now." So Albus crossed over to the wizened codger, and settled in beside him on the bench. "Can I help you sir?" he ventured, carefully.

Ollivander chuckled; it was a dry and raspy sound. "So polite! Your parents have taught you well. I just wanted to inquire after your wand. Eleven inches, medium springy, it really is an amazing specimen. You are very fortunate it chose you."

Albus's hand crept to where his wand was stowed. "What do you mean chose me?"

Ollivander smiled like a predatory animal, "Oh. Dear me. Your father didn't tell you did he? Well, it's not really my place."

Albus knew he was being manipulated into asking what it was his father failed to tell him, but he had to know. "You can tell me sir, I won't mention it."

Ollivander offered one claw like hand. "Let me see your wand please."

Albus nearly left at that moment. He loved his wand, but it took him a long time to develop that affection. His wand was precious to him now, he wasn't sure he trusted this man to give it back. Ollivander nodded encouragingly, which made Albus' trepidation worse. Finally he reached into his robes and pulled it out into the daylight, and handed it over.

"Watch very carefully Mister Potter," Ollivander said. He gave the wand a flick several times, nothing happened.

Albus sniggered; he couldn't help it. "What was I supposed to be watching, sir?"

Ollivander handed it back over to him. "You saw it."

Albus shook his head in confusion. "Saw what exactly?"

Ollivander's intense silver eyes bored into Albus's. "Every wand reacts to a wizard's hand, even if they are not the true master of it. That is why wizards can pass wands on to children, or share wands for generations. A wand is a tool, a marvellous, magnificently useful tool, but a tool nonetheless. They react strongest when they bond with the right wizard, but they still can be used by wizards other than their own."

Albus felt himself go pale, and his stomach gave a lurch. "But mine didn't."

Ollivander smiled that creepy smile as he shook his head. "Your wand never reacted to anyone's hand before yours. I had almost come to believe it was broken. The only explanation is that it is self-aware. It knows you; it works for you and you alone. The reason for this, I know not."

Albus gulped, he turned to stare straight ahead. His wand held in his numb fingers gave him a comforting pulse like it was aware he was upset. Maybe it was.

"Not good," Albus murmured.

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**Thought of the Day:** There were statements in the HP series that indicated that Harry's Phoenix feather wand and his wand hand had a connection that he had with no other wand, is it really far fetched that an artifact of the power of a Chimera scale might develop a rudimentary consciousness, and choose to bond with a wizard? This seems a logical step in evolution to me. It does leave some fascinating questions for the future though.

**P.S.** For those who don't check my profile I am looking for someone to make BBS a banner. I have items I want to incorporate. If you have interest send me a tell with your email address and I will send you a packet with further instructions. The finalist will be posted with a poll and the winner will be posted on my profile. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2 Conversations and Crisps

I just wanted to thank JK for her world, and her continued generosity with it! These are her toys! I own any OC's that appear, they're MINE ALL MINE! BWahahahaaah! Sorry little touch of megalomania there. So enjoy my take on the continuing saga of the epilogue to DH.

**Chapter Notes:** Continuing my determination to add more detail to my writing, I tackled the inner workings of number twelve Grimmauld Place. Albus family has their own rhythm and way, but I found somethings universal. I think its the universality that makes this Chapter so fun for me to read, I hope you all agree. That bit about James getting "Siriused" is take directly from Hondagirl's story **Yuletide Days**.

**For those who read, I hope you take the time to review!**

**Thanks!**

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**Albus Potter and the Black Badger Society**

**Chapter2: Conversations and Crisps...**

The next forty-five minutes were a blur to Albus.

He went on to Flossy's and got the Cauldron for his Aunt and Roxie, and the Brazilian Nut Date cone for Hugo but forgot the extra sprinkles. Hugo received it and was about to comment but he saw Albus' face.

"You having a panic attack Albus?" he asked, concern etched in his young face. Albus shook his head, "I'm fine Hughie, don't worry."

He walked into Tri-W, he found Aunt Angel back in the office, organizing the invoices. She barely looked up, "Set it there, Alby, Roxie's overseeing the boys; she'll be back in a minute."

"I need to go home, Angel, I'm not feeling well," Albus murmured. She looked up concerned; her hand reached out and felt of his forehead, "Panic Attack?" Albus shook his head, "No, just need to lie down." Angel's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "This is a bit sudden, Albus, is there something you need to talk about? I'm sure Sweedy or Dinky won't mind if you take a nap on one of their beds." Albus shook his head, "No that's okay; I just want to go home." Angel sighed, "You always were more secretive than James, a better liar too." Albus glared at her reproachfully. She smiled, "You are very good, and that irritated look is a nice touch. You forget something though; I'm married to your Uncle George." Albus let the weariness show, "I just want to go home." Her eyes softened. "Okay, Albus. You can Floo home, but don't go near your dad's office, he has a meeting going on right now. That's why he wanted you guys out for the day. I have your word?" Albus agreed. She smiled and nodded toward the Tri-W Floo. "Don't forget your amulet or you'll wind up back here."

Albus grabbed a bit of Floo Powder and threw it in, the Flames turned green, he grabbed the amulet in his robes that cancelled out the Unplottable effect, and allowed him through the _Fidelious_ charm, and he stepped in. "number twelve, Grimmauld Place," he yelled.

A series of swirling images, the amulet pulsed under his hand and he exited in the familiar living room. Kreacher was not anywhere nearby or he would have found his way to Albus instantly. _The old boy must be napping_, Albus thought. He could not take too much ministration now anyway. He just wanted to go to his room, and curl into a ball on his bed as he always did when he was feeling overwhelmed. James mockingly called it, "Al-baby Time."

Events from the previous year came heavily to Albus' tired mind. Sorted into Hufflepuff, attacked by rogue Bludgers the first flying lesson, learning to fly with Uncle Charlie, (he would not forget that anytime soon!) Making the Hufflepuff Quidditch team his first year along with his best friend Scorpius Malfoy, all of the interference at the actual matches leading him into being tricked into a binding contract to find the culprit by his friend Cormac's mum, (who happened to be a Leprechaun!) Finally facing down one of his professors, only to find that he had a golem imitating him, and facing that thing as well, finally Hufflepuff winning both the Quidditch and House Cups for the first time in decades, overall it was an exciting year to be a badger. He sincerely hoped the next one would be boring!

The house welcomed him with well-known sights and sounds, every creak of the boards and shaft of light highlighting a family heirloom welcomed him as he resignedly crossed and climbed the stairs to the second story landing. Grimmauld Place was not always a pleasant place to be, from the stories his dad told. When Albus' dad and mum first stayed here, it was a crusty and dusty repository for dark arts and strange artefacts. Now the strangest relics belonged under James' bed! Just as he was turning to continue up to his bedroom on the fourth floor, Albus heard voices from his dad's office.

He would have kept his promise to Aunt Angel, but one of the voices belonged to Headmaster Kingsley Shacklebolt from Hogwarts, and the subject of conversation was Albus.

He really tried being obedient, he really did, but the rumbling deep voice of the Headmaster was like a siren call. He pulled out the Invisibility Cloak, and tossed it over himself just in case someone noticed. He crept down the hallway, and stood outside the office door as the meeting continued.

-

Shacklebolt was still speaking, "I don't know how Albus wound up in the middle of this, but he seems to have a knack for those situations. He reminds me of someone, trying to think who," he concluded with a playful chuckle.

Albus' dad sighed, "Yeah, Ginny has bawled me out over it more than once, as if I could honestly control what I passed down through my genes! My parents bumped up against Voldy three times before he got them, it's in the blood I suppose."

Albus started when he heard a familiar chuckle and his Uncle Neville's voice. Kingsley being here was one thing, Albus' dad often consulted him, but Uncle Neville rarely involved himself in Auror affairs anymore since he retired to teach Herbology at Hogwarts. "So in review," Neville began, "Atticus admitted to, attempting to _Confund_ the Sorting Hat, _Imperiousing_ Cormac Collins to use his Leprechaun magic to swing the Quidditch game in Hufflepuff's favour, later he stunned Lilith LeBlanc for the same reason, and sometime in the past he created a golem. Which is right down there with _Horcruxes _in terms of illegal dark spells? All of those crimes point directly to him and him alone, but I got the impression he never really liked Hufflepuff. He never defended them, or spoke up in their behalf, why would he risk his career for them now?"

There was a silence, and then Albus got another surprise when he heard his Uncle Ron's voice. _Uncle Ron is here too!_ "We think that he was after more than Hufflepuff winning the House Cup, he was in charge of _Defence Against the Dark Arts _for twelve years, and had access to every student that came through Hogwarts from that time to this. If you put it into chess terms, they've had a pawn on our back row for years weakening our ability to fight, waiting to turn into a queen inside our defences, pretty clever move when you think about it."

"So you think we have been at war for all these years, we just didn't know it?" Kingsley concluded solemnly.

Albus dad made a sighing sound that Albus had heard many times before, usually when things were worse than he was going to admit. Albus stomach rolled and nearly vomited right there on the stoop, but he stopped it in time to hear his dad continue, "We are way behind if we are. Despite of all of our diligence, they caught us unawares. Pharrel told Albus that, when the _Dreamer_ finally awakens, he was going to offer Albus like a jewel. That statement bothers me more than anything else, because we couldn't get him to explain it even under _Veritaserum_."

Uncle Neville's voice was grave, "He withstood _Veritaserum_?"

"Yeah, we tried everything we could; we even brought in the best Legilimens we could find. She told us that Atticus' mind was like a labyrinth, and we could not offer her enough money to try to decipher it. She was fairly certain that she wouldn't be able to find her way back," interjected Uncle Ron.

"Atticus didn't appear to be that complicated," Uncle Neville commented.

Albus' dad Harry settled into his chair, Albus would know that creak anywhere, there was two clunks, as he rested his boots on hard wood of the desk. "We won't get any more opportunities to find out, unfortunately."

"The Leprechauns caught up with him?" inquired Shacklebolt.

Albus' Dad sighed wearily. "We found Pharrel this morning, he had more gold coins inside him then I thought a human body could hold."

Uncle Neville summed it up, "Ouch!"

-

Albus backed away from the door, until his back was against Lily's bedroom door across the hall. He would have said, _not good_, but he suddenly needed to get to a lavatory. He made it to the one at the end of the second story hall before his dinner, and he was certain, a good portion of his breakfast as well, came up. He rested his hot fevered face against the coolness of the porcelain. _That would have been me, _he thought, _if Cormac had not intervened_. He flushed the evidence down, and scrambled up to his room. He did not even think to take the cloak off as he crossed his bright yellow and black room and collapsed onto his bed, and curled into a protective ball. He pulled out his wand and laid it on his nightstand, not wanting to think about it either.

Sleep came to him almost immediately.

-

He was on a clover-covered hillside in a land he had never seen. The fields stretched out from his vantage point like a lush green carpet that will not lie flat. Here and there little cottages clustered together in protective herds like sheep when the wolf is near.

"D'ya like it?" inquired a voice to his left. He felt strangely calm as he turned. Cormac's mum looked like a young maiden with elaborately plaited bright orange hair and pointed ears peaking through. She appeared not much older than Albus, but Albus knew she was older than his Granddad Arthur. She was wearing a simple blue green dress that flowed in the light wind, her eyes, and the same shade as the dress, seemed to be full of laughter one moment and cold the next.

Albus nodded, "Yes, it's very beautiful."

They sat in silence. She seemed to have all the time in the world, and Albus felt sure that wherever here was, he was not on a schedule himself. The land seemed to resonate with him. With the simplicity and purpose among untouched hills, to him it was paradise.

He knew why he was here. "Would your people have killed me like you did Professor Pharrel?"

She nodded, but she had a small smile on her face. "I would've been forsworn, and when tha Hunts about, you don wanna be foresworn Albus. You were never in danger though; I can give you my werd on that."

"Never?" Albus inquired cautiously. He did not want to seem like he was questioning her. The full strength of her eyes bore into his, he had to turn away.

"Me boyo would've protected you, Albus, as I knew he would."

"Would you have killed him like you did Professor Pharrel?"

She stared off into the hills, suddenly there was a distant baying of wolves, but it was deeper and scarier than any sound Albus had ever heard.

She smiled sadly, "Ah, tha Hunt, they know oath breakers Albus, you don' want to be an oath-breaker."

She turned and gave Albus the full strength of her otherworldly beauty. "I will be returnin home soon, Albus, I canna stay in human realm for long, me boyo is going to stay with a Muggle couple the ministry picked out. I would like fer you to remain his friend. He will have to make a decision before he reaches manhood, human or Leprechaun, he canna stay both, the magic is far too strong and dangerous. I want you ta help him if you can."

Albus felt a bit of trepidation, things had not gone so well the last time he agreed to something for her, so he said nothing.

She laughed and it echoed throughout the hills, "Ah yer learning. Very good!" She smiled at him, her eyes shining with mirth, "I would consider it a favour, please."

Albus carefully nodded. She smiled and gently kissed him on the forehead.

He thought of something he wanted to ask. "Our caretaker at Hogwarts is a Goblin, he told me that Goblins don't deal with Leprechauns because they play for keepsies every time, what did he mean by that?"

Without looking at Albus, all the emotion left her face, she stared off into the hills, "Your Goblin is wrong Albus." She turned to him and there was something terrible in her eyes, "Leprechauns, don't play."

-

Albus shot up in bed. The invisibility cloak fell off him. He rubbed his eyes and wondered if it had been a dream after all. Suddenly he heard himself discussed just across the hall in James' room.

"What did you do to upset your brother? Where is he? Angel said he flooed home hours ago."

"I didn't do anything to Al-baby mum! Fred and I were too busy cleaning out the creature cages without magic, without MAGIC mum! I don't hear you saying anything about that one!"

"Don't call your brother that, and you probably deserved it."

"Well he is a baby, mum! Always getting upset, running and hiding in his room, bet you'd find him under his bed! No wonder he didn't wind up in Gryffindor!"

"James Sirius Potter!"

Albus winced. He had better tell his mum where he was, James was getting "Sirused" that was never a good thing.

He stuck his head out to door only to see his older brother and his mother literally nose to nose. Both were red-faced and his mum had her wand out. They turned at the sound of his door.

"I'm home mum, sorry if I worried you."

His mum's face immediately went from irate to thoughtful and concerned, "Are you okay, sweetie?"

James rolled his eyes, made an exasperated sound and retreated into his room, shutting his door after him softly as to not wind his mum up again.

Albus nodded, "I just needed to take a nap, and I feel better now."

His mum frowned at him, she crossed to him and bent down so she could search his face for a sign he was worse than he was letting on. Albus was careful to give her the same expression that he started with until she seemed satisfied he was not putting her on. "Well, in the future, don't run off like that, okay? Your Auntie Angel was worried, and I was too."

Albus gave her his best smile, "Sorry mum, it won't happen again."

She gave him a kiss on his forehead, "I doubt that."

She stared at his forehead oddly, "I could've sworn you had what looked like lipstick there a second ago."

Albus felt a sudden chill, but forced himself to give her a bemused look, "Mum are you feeling okay?"

She glared at him playfully.

She turned, shot a dirty look at her eldest son's door and descended the stairs.

Albus went back into his room and checked out his forehead in the mirror. There was not a mark, but he sensed that there was something there nonetheless. He gave the coin around his neck a gentle tug. _Great__...__more favours from the Leprechauns, I do wish they liked me less! _Then his mind wandered unbidden to an image of his former DADA professor discovered spitting up bloody coins in his cell. He shuddered involuntarily and concluded it was better to stay on the "wee folk's" good side!

He still felt a bit tired and his stomach was not much better so he went back to the bed.

Before long, there was a cautious knock. "Yeah?" The door opened and he saw Lily's bushy red hair before her cute, freckled face, pinched in concern, stuck in. "Albus? Are you okay?" she called.

Albus smiled despite himself, he patted a place on the bed. She broke into a smile and bounded across the room. Her stuffed toy Thestral, with the glowing red eyes she called Tock, was stuck under her arm as usual. She was probably too old for it but she usually showed up with it when she was feeling worried or concerned.

She landed on the bed with a bounce. "I looked in here earlier and didn't see you. Mum was turning the house upside down, and Kreacher checked the Extendable Wing thinking you might have gotten lost over there again." Albus glared at her reproachfully, "That happened only once." Lily giggled, "It's still funny!" Albus sighed and rolled his eyes. Lily glared at the bedroom door, and to her older brother's room beyond it. "I asked James where you were but he was rude about it." Albus chuckled. "What did you do?" She gave him innocent brown eyes, "I don't know. Underage magic can be unpredictable, right? Aunt Hermione always says so. He was being mean to me then he just turned green all of a sudden." Albus smiled slyly, "Slytherin green?" Lily beamed, "I don't know, never been in Slytherin, have I?" Albus grinned, he gave his sister a hug, "Thanks Lils, I'm feeling better already."

She gave him a hug back and bounded off the bed and with Tock firmly under her arm she waved as she left.

The irony was that Albus could not sleep afterwards. He stared at his ceiling for what seemed like hours. His eyes then wandered the darkening yellow walls, over his Puddlemere United poster with its image of Ridley Bartlesby raising his dragon scale gloved hand around a struggling Snitch triumphantly. He was going to see the United play the hapless Cannons the next day. His eyes fell on a long cylindrical package, wrapped in blue-sky patterned paper with a Snitch in the middle of the red ribbon, reminding him of Scorpius' birthday party.

He was supposed to meet Scorpius and his parents in Diagon Alley, and then they were going to get their school supplies for the impending year and top the day off with a Professional Quidditch match. Scorpius' dad arranged and was paying for the entire thing; the Malfoy family owned a share of the United club, and the party was taking place in a private box at the stadium.

Albus was still nervous around Mr. Malfoy after his actions the previous year. Albus could understand wanting to revive the Malfoy family name, and move the company back to England from overseas in Romania, but using his own son as a stalking horse for the press just bothered Albus. He grew up in a family where he was a child not just another resource to manipulate, his friend seemed to be okay with it, but Albus was not mollified.

He could not help but wonder how having his dad's approval was going to affect his friend, after all, practically the entire time he knew Scorpius, he was getting Howlers from his grandfather, and silence from his father. Now that he was not the outcast, but the Malfoy's greatest hope for the future, things were bound to change. One image came unbidden to Albus' mind.

They were standing with their families at Kings Cross station:

"_Hey Albus," called Scorpius. Albus turned to see him with his parents, he held the handle to Kublai's carryall with its glowering occupant, and he looked nervous. "Send me an owl, ok?"_

He realized that his friend who had been with him through so much that year was still insecure about his friendship. That moment of vulnerability was the true Scorpius; no matter what changed, he was still the same bloke on the inside. Albus hoped that he would see more of that boy as he got more comfortable with him and Rose. He had a niggling suspicion that their struggle to remain friends was not over, but might just be starting.

To distract himself from those stomach-churning thoughts he hopped off the bed and crossed to his desk. On the well-worn, pitted surface, was a Sneakascope, a pair of Omnoculars (he needed to remember for tomorrow) and a single book.

The name of the book was, _Paranoia Justified: The Diaries of Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody_ by Orion Cody. It was navy blue, with embossed gold lettering. It was a first edition copy.

His dad had sent the diaries to a man in America who evidentially was a_ protégé' _of Moody's and a writer, and that man had put the entry's into a book. Albus' dad used it to train his Aurors

It had become his _defacto_ Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher the year before, and he had read most of it. He idlely wondered who the new professor would be as he picked up the volume and carried it back to his bed for a read. He opened it to his bookmarked page.

The name of the chapter was:

-

_**Secret Organizations and their Uses**_

_There will be times when an offensive needs to be organized. If you are surrounded by enemies and have no idea who to trust, but a few who you do, then the time has come to think about a forming secret organization, that is an invaluable asset when it comes to fighting against overwhelming or unknown odds._

_The advantages are as follows._

_Being a secret organization means that your enemies cannot determine your numbers and that creates paranoia in their ranks. It also gives those who would support you a rallying point, a name to call out when they feel scared about what they are facing. Both good and evil, governments and all who rebel have used this method._

_Disadvantages are significant as well._

_Since you are organized, if one falls so do they all. One defector, one measly turncoat and the entire thing comes down, very few can seem like a lot when unknown, but once revealed, and your entire cause jeopardized by the knowledge of your true size._

_A Few Examples of this concept:_

_Order of the Phoenix_

_Death Eaters_

_Dumbledore's Army_

_The Red Hand_

_Darklings_

_Veritas_

_On occasion governments will have groups within that government that do the work that they cannot do officially. The Aurors did not start out as a policing force, but as a group within the Ministry of Magic that did the dirty work the Ministry could not have attributed to it. _

_In conclusion, if your numbers are small, but determined and the threat is large and overwhelming, consider this strategy, they will not know who hit them!_

_(Authors Note: Dumbledore's Army was a student organization, listed here because it was a significant contributing factor in the Battle of Hogwarts. I think it's interesting that when a corrupt government refused to arm the students to fight they armed themselves and saved that very government. It takes courage and guts and determination to do what you know is right, even when those in power say it's wrong. I'm not saying doing something illegal is a good thing all of the time, but when the thing that is deemed illegal is the right thing to do, the criminals become the saviours! Orion)_

-

Albus put down the book and sat up in bed. It was dark out, and from the sounds of the house, everyone was asleep. His stomach was still uncomfortably queasy. He hated to bother Kreacher but he had no choice. He glanced at his wand on the nightstand; it sat there with all its elaborate carvings and runes in its polished rowan surface looking benign. As much as he tried, Albus could not go back to being afraid of it. It was as much his friend this last year as Scorpius had been. He smiled to himself, and stowed it in its customary place in his robes, he felt a tiny little vibration, as if it was grateful. _So__,__ I've got a intelligent wand_, Albus thought. If he stopped using it now, then he would be turning down a gift. He had just gotten used to enjoying his wand; he was not going to stop because some creepy old man told him it might be self-aware.

Albus grabbed his muggle torch that his Granddad Weasley had gotten him, slipped on the invisibility cloak and crept down shading the light with his hand down toward his feet. He was sure seeing a light out of nowhere was going to scare anyone still up so he carefully crept all the way down. He glanced at his father's office when he reached the second story landing and saw the light was still on.

He debated talking to his father, but he knew his dad probably could not tell him much more than he overheard, besides he had promised his Aunt Angel he would not listen in, and he would be all but admitting he had if he asked too much.

He had not eaten all day, and he needed to get something down, so he kept going down to the kitchen.

This was Kreacher's domain, and it had Albus' mum's touches as well. All of the surfaces reflected shiny and clean in the torch's glow. He reached out and flipped the switch turning on the lights not being too concerned awaking anyone this far down.

He turned off the torch and placed it on his folded cloak on the table. He bent down and carefully rapped on the door to Kreacher's cupboard.

"Kreacher?" Albus called. It might take a few times to wake the old elf up but he was patient.

As it turned out after just one time, there was a small crack sound and Kreacher was standing in his little black sleep hat and robes. He looked a little comical holding a lit candle in a lamp peering up at Albus bleary-eyed.

"Master Albus? Is you feeling well sir?" he asked in his bullfrog voice.

"I need a purple, Kreacher, if it won't put you out."

Kreacher shook his head adamantly; he went over to an elf height table and brought out a cauldron and several potion vials. Kreacher had leaned dozens of potions over the years to serve his family's needs. As he had done many times before, Albus sat to watch. He had fond memories of watching the old boy stir. Kreacher even let Albus help on occasion, which was probably why Albus was the top Potions student in his year. He watched as Kreacher measured and added, stirring clockwise this time and counter that. It was relaxing to watch. They had developed shorthand for the potions. Purple was a stomach draught, blue for sleep, green for calming, red for pepper-up, Albus didn't even know the names to them.

"Looks like we had the same idea, yeah?"

"Hey Dad, just needed a purple." Albus called in the way of greeting. His dad came on in, "When you're done with that one, would you mind a blue for me Kreacher?" he inquired. Kreacher nodded as he brought the cauldron to a simmer.

Albus' dad went to the cupboard and brought himself out a snack of crisps, some ham and a wheel of cheese; placing them on the table, he crossed and poured them both tall glasses of milk from the Cooling Box. He then sat down and made a few mini sandwiches, sliding one over to Albus. Albus surprised himself by eating it hungrily. Kreacher placed a vial of his purple potion on the table beside him. Albus drank it eagerly, his stomach improved immediately. His mouth was full so he smiled and nodded his thanks. Kreacher did what approximated as his smile, and went back to mixing a blue for Master Harry.

His dad munched, and was eyeing his son intently. "You know I'm a decent Auror right?" he asked his son quietly. "Albus nodded, not sure where his dad was headed.

"Me, your Mum and your Auntie Angel compared notes about today. See if this scenario sounds familiar." His dad's green eyes bored into his, "I know where Flossy's Parlor is located, and what it's across from, and I know that Mr. Ollivander has taken to sitting out front of his shop under an awning during these warm days." Albus stared at the table guiltily not even sure, why he felt that way. His dad continued. "I also smelt the vomit in the second story lavatory, as I passed by after the meeting, that smell lingers, Angel told me you flooed home about that time, and well let's face it son, throwing up when you get overwhelmed is sort of your calling card."

Albus felt like melting into his chair. The crisps suddenly seemed dry in his mouth; he took a drink of milk. He then managed to say, "Sorry dad, I should have kept going when Ollivander wanted to chat but I didn't want to be rude. I should have stayed in my room when I got home, like I promised Angel. I knew it was wrong but I couldn't help but listen."

He waited for his dad to be mad, but all he heard was a weary sigh. "So Ollivander told you about your wand, and then you came home and overheard what Professor Pharrel had been up too, and what happened to him." Albus nodded gravely.

His dad leaned back in his chair looking exhausted. "No matter what I do, it's like we are on a course that I can't seem to control, or get us off of," he remarked resignedly. He seemed lost in thought a moment, "I'm starting to think that my parents dying might not have been the worst thing after all. It saved them from feeling as helpless as I do right now."

Albus got up, walked around, and hugged his dad crying, "I'm sorry dad. I don't mean these things to happen. They just do." His dad hugged him back fiercely, "I know Albus, and I know you want to be a normal boy. I tried to give you the childhood that I didn't have, but it just isn't happening, and I don't know what to do about it."

He held Albus for a few minutes then he pulled back with a lopsided grin, "Wait a minute, there is one thing we can do." Albus pulled back and wiped his eyes. "What?" His dad suddenly grabbed Albus tight, "We can tickle the hero out of ya." He started attacking Albus ribs. "Albus tried not to be loud but he was squealing in laughter after a few seconds of the torture.

"What are you two doing, you're going to wake up the house."

They looked up guiltily to see Albus mum standing there, hair a bit dishevelled in a robe glaring at them, but with a small smile. "Sorry luv." Albus' dad called, "We were just talking." She looked at them a few moments, came in, waved Kreacher off kindly, and sat down at the table. "So did he finally tell you what was wrong?" Albus' dad nodded, "Ollivander told him about the wand and he overheard our meeting today." His mum sighed, "I thought that was what was going on, and we need to pay Mr. Ollivander another visit it appears." She reached out and brushed Albus hair with her fingers, "I'm so sorry sweetie. I really am." Albus crossed over into her arms for the hug she looked like she needed. "What are we going to do with you," she sighed as she stroked his back. Albus saw from his vantage point she reached out and her and his dad held hands.

It turned out he did not need a blue potion. His parents holding hands was his last memory for a bit. He did not even realize he was asleep until he suddenly felt his bed under him. His dad had carried him up the stairs by the light of his torch, and he and his mum helped him get undressed, she laid his torch and the cloak on his dresser, and gently removed his wand from his robes, carefully placing it on the nightstand as she got him settled in.

They paused looking at him and talked in low tones. They probably thought Albus was asleep.

"He's so small, and such a good boy Harry, why him?" his mum asked quietly as she settled back into his dad's arms. Albus' dad sighed, "I guess we'll find out eventually. One thing I do know now though." She smiled her face lit in the light from the lamp they had turned on when they entered, "What's that?" Albus' dad nodded at Albus. "I feel sorry for whoever is really behind all this, because if he's after Albus, he's going to have to go through the Potters and a whole burrow full of Weasley's to get to him."

The last words before Albus drifted off was his mum replying with steel in her voice, "Count on it.

* * *

**Thought of the Day:** I need to admit something. When I wrote that bit about Harry's lament on how he can't seem to protect his son, I actually felt guilty! The forth wall was nearly broken it was like I had a character asking me why I put it through the things I do LOL! If that isn't surreal I don't know what is. Do I feel a bit guilty that everything seems to happen to Albus? Sometimes. Will that prevent me from putting him through it? Nope. Conflict makes you stronger, and for a special few, conflict is the definition of what makes them special. I think that Albus really shines when the chips are down and the odds aren't good, otherwise he wouldn't be worth one book, much less two! So sorry Albus, Harry, you're in for a bumpy ride!

_**Bart**_


	3. Chapter 3 The Cousin that No One Talks

I just wanted to thank JK for her world, and her continued generosity with it! These are her toys! I own any OC's that appear, they're MINE ALL MINE! BWahahahaaah! Sorry little touch of megalomania there. So enjoy my take on the continuing saga of the epilogue to DH.

**Chapter Notes:** I have not abandoned this story kids, going over a month without a post I know is a bad indication for me. This chapter had me roped and tied and gagged for a while, then I took a foray into a different FanFiction community for a bit for leg-stretching. I came back to this story and decided that I needed to cut the second part off and make it a chapter in and of itself poof! block gone.

I managed to find yet another subplot to include in this already epic story and I debated it for weeks because the Weasley's are such a gloriously wonderful family its hard to not see them in the best of lights. This story was suggested by an offhand comment made by Ron in one of the early books about the cousin who no one talks about. There was a character that JK was going to include but whom never fit, who was supposed to be this cousin's daughter. She didn't so I did. I hope you enjoy his addition. He's cannon but then again he's not LOL!

thanks for your patience!

_**Bart**_

* * *

**Albus Potter and the Black Badger Society**

**Chapter 3: The Cousin No One Talks About ...**

Despite Albus' trying day before, the next morning he felt much better about things. He was not sure what had caused his upturn in feeling, but he did not choose to puncture it by dwelling on it overmuch.

Breakfast was as usual a study in contrasts. Albus' dad was up and whistling with the morning _Prophet_ laid out at the breakfast table, he had a copy of the _Quibbler_ underneath so he could "depressurize" from all of the hot air afterward. He had a morning cup of black tea with milk and sugar, and an empty vial of red pepper-up beside it. Albus' mum was a little rumpled and carefully dissecting a kipper, sipping pumpkin juice while she proofread her article on the rookies making their first appearances at the start of the Quidditch season today. Lily was, as always, disgustingly chipper as she worked on her latest drawing with what looked like random strokes of her pigment wands; she had her usual short stack of potato cakes slathered in ketchup, and an English muffin with strawberry jam but amazingly, her jumper stayed spot-free. James, while not as epically grumpy as Rose Weasley was legendary for, was rarely at his best in the early hours. His usually untidy black hair, matted down from pillow contact, was sticking up in the back only, and he looked like he was barely functional. He gave Albus the look of disdain he usually had reserved for his younger brother, and Albus smiled back warmly making the scowl he was receiving worse. In spite of the rough patch James and Albus' mum where having, they both shared a love of kippers for breakfast, he was eating his with a side of scramble and a shingle with redcurrant jam spackled on and a spot of butter and had managed to get a bit on his sleeve already.

"Good morning, master Albus, Kreacher trusts that you slept well?" said the bullfrog voice from the vicinity of the stove. Kreacher was standing on his stepladder in his apron with a spatula in his hand, and his chef's hat perched between his ears. While he was a dignified old style House elf who thought that voluntarily wearing clothes was a disgrace, Kreacher had taken to them eagerly once Albus' mum insisted he wear them. He now was quite the clotheshorse; of course, Lily enjoyed picking him out various outfits, which he never turned down. His expressed reason was that she was his master and he would do as he was bidden, but Albus suspected Kreacher just could not tell Lily no. That was a common problem among the men at number twelve Grimmauld. Albus' mum was the only one who put her foot down with Lils, but even then, Lily managed to get what she wanted. Albus felt sorry for Hogwarts next year!

Albus nodded a greeting to Kreacher, who worked on Albus' waffle with fresh strawberries. Albus was not sure how the old elf managed to find strawberries at all times of year, he probably did not want the details. Soon he had a plate in front of him along with Milk and his own pumpkin juice eagerly making the waffle disappear. He did not miss the relieved look his parents exchanged.

"There was an owl for you this morning Albus," his mum said as she passed a bit of parchment across the table.

Albus accepted it solemnly, his stomach giving a bit of a kick, and read it.

-

_Dear Albus,_

_Something came up; my dad has a surprise for me that he needed me to go early to the Stadium for. I won't be able to meet you at Diagon as we agreed, my father sent the elf to pick up my Hogwarts supplies. I am sorry about this; I will see you at the party though._

_Your friend,_

_Scorpius Malfoy_

-

Albus hid his disappointment as he put the parchment to the side. He suspected his parents had already read the letter, and discussed the solution. He saw James eyeing him, waiting for an explanation. He knew it would wind James up if he did not say anything, so he acted as if nothing happened. His brother finished his breakfast, shot Albus another scathing look before heading upstairs in a huff.

"So," his father ventured carefully, "Scorpius and his dad won't be meeting you in Diagon after all?"

Albus sighed, "You read the same thing I did."

Albus' Mum frowned at him, "I know you're disappointed but I don't want to hear your cheek."

Albus sighed. "Sorry Mum. I still have to get my books though."

Albus dad folded the paper carefully. "Your Uncle Percy is showing Cormac Collins and his new foster family around Diagon in a bit. I'm sure you can tag along."

Albus perked up. "What are they like?" Albus inquired eagerly attempting to change the topic.

"I don't know Albus, your uncle said they are a Squib and Muggle couple, but they are aware of the magic world, he seemed to know them well." He took his glasses off and polished them idly with his handkerchief. His green eyes regarded Albus with curiosity. "Not only did you not seem surprised by Cormac staying with a foster family, but you failed inquire after his Mum. You seem rather well informed, son."

Albus cursed his father's quick Auror mind. He knew those limpid disinterested eyes were dissecting him. He could back up and try to take the conversation in a new direction, but he was tired of lying and half-truths.

Albus' dad registered that he was going to hear some sensitive information. He exchanged a look with Albus' mum. "Come on sweetie," she said to Lily, "your Aunt Looney is in London and wants to take us shopping and then out for lunch."

Lily squealed with delight and she pushed her chair back and was almost to the door, when she came back and placed her rolled up picture in front of Albus. "This is for Scorpius. Tell him I said Happy Birthday!" She gave Albus her brightest smile then bounded up the stairs. Albus' mum gave them an apologetic look as she followed her daughter up.

Albus' dad sipped his tea, and waited patiently as Kreacher cleared the dishes. The old boy insisted on doing that particular chore with no help, and they allowed him his dignity. Albus could say anything in front of Kreacher, but he did not want to involve the old elf. Long used to confidences, Kreacher never took it personally; he finished his work nodded goodbye, and apparated to another part of the house to begin his self-appointed chores.

"It all started last year," Albus began...

-

A short time later Albus dad leaned back in his chair and rubbed his tired eyes. "Can I see the coin?" Albus slipped off his neck and slid it across the table. His dad accepted it and studied it carefully. "Yeah, this is definitely Leprechaun gold," he said sighing as he slid it back across. Albus took it dutifully and put back around his neck. His dad eyed him appraisingly. "So you've been in contact with Princess Liala and survived a deal with her."

Albus nodded, he watched his dad for his reaction, and he seemed amused about something. "What's so funny Dad?" Albus said feeling upset.

"Oh, I'm not laughing at you Albus," his dad assured him quickly, "I just can't get over how much in over your head you got last year and still came out on top." He chuckled to himself. "I have to say as the acting head of the Auror's department, if you weren't twelve, and my son, I would be offering you a job."

Albus could not help it, he smiled, that was all it took. He and his father shared a long laugh together. When things have gotten ridiculous and at their most difficult, you laugh or you cry. For once, the tears Albus had running down his cheeks were ones of mirth.

-

They arrived through the Floo Network at the Leaky Cauldron. This was yet another of Albus' favourite places in Diagon Alley.

His honorary aunt, Hannah Longbottom was the proprietor. She had proven to be a talented caretaker of the Leaky Cauldron turning the once decrepit entrance to Diagon Alley to a reputable destination in and of itself, written up as a four-cauldron establishment in _The Travelling Warlock_. She had expanded its clientele to families, offering fine dining and top-notch accommodations, with easy access to the most prestigious collection of shops in wizard England.

They came out into a spacious dining room brightly lit with well-polished hand carved wood panels, inviting bright yellow walls and the old Leaky Cauldron sign hung behind the bar among the bottles. One of Hannah Longbottom's first decisions as the new owner was to take down the sign outside and make the Leaky Cauldron a destination you can only find if you are looking for it. What that did was allow her to turn the tavern into a proper wizard establishment. With no muggles wandering in, she was able to make the lamps levitating, put wizard concoctions on the shelves behind the bar, she was able to add more floos emptying out directly into the tavern, for convenience. The changes made it a destination in and of itself, not just a passage into a more interesting place.

As was typical the Tavern main room was bustling as they disembarked. Albus' dad had his hand on Albus' shoulder. So Albus felt the tension in it as the clientele's gossiping began. "That's Harry Potter! Is that Albus? I think it is! That boy of his looks just like him doesn't he? I agree, more and more every year! Did you see that article in _Witch Weekly_? "

"Harry! Albus! Welcome!" Hannah Longbottom rushed up. She was sweet, round-faced and perpetually a tad pink with long blond hair that reached her waist. Albus had never known a time when she was not smiling, it always set him at ease in spite of himself.

"Look at you! Neville's in for a surprise when you get to Hogwarts, I declare you get taller every time I see you!" Hannah cooed, fussing over Albus.

Albus felt his cheeks flush under her attention. "I only grew an inch over the summer," he explained shyly.

"A whole inch? I'll bet Ginny's already using extension charms on your entire closet," she stated her eyes twinkling with mirth.

She looked up from Albus, "Hello Harry, you're looking well." Albus' dad's hand relaxed on his shoulder. "Alright there, Hannah?"

She gave him a small curtsy, "Oh you know me Harry, same ole Hannah." Albus' dad chuckled.

"Has Percy arrived yet?" he inquired.

Her eyes swept the breakfast crowd. "I don't see the lights reflecting off of a high forehead, so I am assuming, no."

Albus had to snigger at that.

"Do you mind if Albus stays with you a few minutes? I'm sure Percy will be along shortly, you know how punctual he is. I need to go on into the office, they'll probably skiv off and play Quidditch if Ron's in charge," Albus' dad explained with a smile. He knew the answer as well as Albus did. Hannah never missed a chance to take care of the Potter/Weasley kids. She was yet another honorary mum.

"Of course! I keep some Butterbeer under the bar for just such occasions, go get settled," she said nudging Albus in that direction.

Albus slid onto a bar stool and put his bag he was carrying for his school supplies on the counter. It was one of Aunt Hermione's special bags so he could probably fit the entire stock of the bar into it with enough room for a family of four to move comfortably.

The bartender, a colossal thick black-haired middle-aged man that everyone called "Guy" moved his large frame over to Albus, without another word he reached under the bar and with surprising gentleness for such large hands set a Butterbeer in front of him, and flipped the top off with one thick yellow fingernail. Albus offered thanks and got his usual grunt in return. Guy was not much of a conversationalist, but he offered considerable intimidation as a bouncer. James speculated more than once that he was part Mountain Troll, but Albus really did not want to think about the specifics of such a pairing. Guy was the only person Albus had ever met who he thought might give Hagrid a tussle if it came to it.

Albus watched as his dad gave him a small salute and disappeared into the fireplace in a flash of green flame. Hannah circulated the room, talking and mingling as the servers made their call-backs, all run with precision and care, like the internal workings of Grams' Family Clock.

He checked his own watch for the time. His dad said that Uncle Percy was due to arrive at the Cauldron at nine fifteen. Never in Albus' entire life had his Uncle been late for anything. It was one of the constants of the Weasley family. Lucy, Molly, and Audrey had their way with things normally, Uncle Percy was a bit of a pushover when it came to his girls, but in matters of punctuality, Uncle Percy was adamant, so they always arrived on time. Albus' watch told him that it was nine fourteen, so he counted down the seconds under his breath.

Five...

Four...

Three...

Two...

One...

There was a burst of green and out stepped his tall balding Uncle, he was rearranging his robes shaking the ash out fussily. Albus turned back to his Butterbeer with a smile on his face.

There were several reasons why Uncle Percy was Albus' favourite uncle. He was consistent, detail oriented, self effacing, loved a good bet, even with long odds (which irritated Aunt Audrey to no end!) and he was the most humble person Albus knew. Oh he heard the stories of when his uncles and mum were young, how his uncle was annoying and bossy, but in the intervening years something had shifted and now he was most likely the first relative they turned to for help or advice. Albus just thought he was fun, boring at times, but fun. He could never be sure when his uncle was making a joke or really being oblivious to what he said or did; when Aunt Audrey was not there to roll her eyes appropriately, it was pretty much a tossup to figure out.

Uncle Percy was wearing his round wire-rimmed glasses on the end of his long, slender nose; his sparse red hair was in a part so perfect you could you could use it to check the level of a wall. His blue eyes scanned the dining area and settled on Albus, he made a small wave of greeting as he crossed to the bar. Several diners called out for his attention, he was a well-known, highly placed Ministry official so no doubt there were those who wanted his consideration, but he airily told them to owl for an appointment and he continued on. That was his Uncle Percy, the people he snubbed looked affronted, but if the concerns they had were legitimate, they would send that owl. Uncle Percy was making his priorities known, at this moment, it was Albus.

"Why are you drinking Butterbeer, Albus, milk is better for you," he lightly scolded as he slipped onto a stool beside Albus. Albus just smiled. Uncle Percy pulled out his pocket watch. "I know they are using muggle transportation but tardiness is tardiness," he murmured under his breath. Guy lumbered over expectantly. Percy smiled, "I'll have what he's having, good man." There was a clunk of a bottle and a flip of a lid with a yellowed nail, and soon Uncle Percy had his own bottle of Butterbeer turned up. He sat it down with a sigh, "Okay, I see your point, that is better than milk."

While they waited, he efficiently grilled Albus about his summer, asking questions to clarify details. He really seemed concerned so Albus found he did not mind the scrutiny. He ended his narration with an explanation as to why he needed his Uncle to take him around for supplies. Uncle Percy sat in silence for a few moments, "I have had dealings with the Malfoys over the years Albus, I can assure you this, Draco Malfoy never rolls out of bed in the morning without thinking of someone to manipulate, Dad can tell you some stories about dealing with Lucius that would give you nightmares." He stared off for a moment, and then added, "I'm sure Scorpius is different."

"What did you do this summer Uncle Percy?" Albus inquired, wanting to change the subject. His Uncle swelled a little bit in pride, "I managed to acquire the talents of the lady considered to be the most renowned and talented stone carver in the world. Her name is Chrys Euryale. Do not tell your Aunt Audrey I said this, but she is a looker! She has agreed to create a memorial stone garden at Hogwarts in honour of the twentieth anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts!"

Albus could not help but be happy for his uncle. "Where is it going to go?"

Uncle Percy reached for a napkin, pulled a black quill out of his pocket, and quickly sketched a rough outline of Hogwarts. He pointed to a place just below Dumbledore's tomb. "It's going to incorporate the Heroes of Hogwarts Obelisk; Hagrid is already growing the hedge rows. At the end of the year when it is ready, near the time of the anniversary, the entire ministry and families of the fallen are going to have an unveiling celebration. "

Albus had a stray thought. "I guess that means all the Weasley's, since Uncle Fred was a hero?"

Uncle Percy paused a moment, "Yes we will be in attendance."

Albus never pressed but whenever the subject of his deceased uncle came up, older members of the family got solemn. He knew that the empty chair between Uncle George and Percy was to honour Uncle Fred's memory, but he never really asked too much.

"I think our guests have arrived, Albus," his uncle remarked nodding toward the door.

The first person coming through the door caused Albus to grin and wave. The slight, short boy with tight bright orangeish curly hair waved back eagerly. It was his bunkmate and fellow Hufflepuff, Cormac Collins. The couple that came in behind him stared around at the establishment with awe. The tall moustached man with the carefully styled brown hair was pointing things out to his dark haired wide-eyed slender, elegant wife. Just from their interactions Albus was going to bet that the man was the squib half of the couple. He seemed to be reacting with nostalgia rather than surprise. His eyes found Albus and Percy at the bar, and they made their way across trailing Cormac. Aunt Hannah intercepted them and chatted with them a few moments making sure they felt at home. The woman said something to her that made her laugh aloud. For a muggle she seemed to handling the emersion into wizard society well.

Cormac made it to the bar. "Greetings Cormac, son of Liala," Uncle Percy intoned with an official tone that he would use with a diplomat, "are you finding your accommodations adequate?"

Cormac smiled but his ears turned red, "Yes thank you sir."

Percy nodded. "Gawain, Gwen, how are you doing?" he called as the couple came into range. Gawain shook Percy's hand with a familiarity that comes from long association. Percy introduced the couple to Albus as Gawain and Gwen Prewitt. Albus noticed that Gwen was staring at him curiously.

"Percy. You said that Albus looked like Harry, but honey, I think you understated things a bit."

Albus gave her a startled look, "do I know you?"

Gwen smiled, "We'll talk about that later. Percy, dear, can you see if that nice lady will get us a table?"

Percy nodded and with a wave to Hannah and her indication of a table, they took seats, located out of earshot of any curious patron. Hannah knew the acoustics of her bar well.

Cormac and Albus began to compare notes while the adults talked.

"Have ya seen me mum?" Cormac asked in a lower tone.

Albus nodded. "She had a talk with me last night."

Cormac gave Albus solemn eyes. "Have ya heard about Professor Pharrel?"

Albus indicated that he had. They sat in silence for a bit before Albus changed the subject. "So, are you enjoying your stay with Gawain and Gwen?"

Cormac smiled, "They are wonderful people. Yer uncle chose well. I got ta help out in tha garden the other day. Gawain got a surprise when he asked me ta bring him tha tiller, he didn't mean for me ta pick it up and bring it over." His ears got red from embarrassment. Albus could imagine Gawain's shock. He had seen the small boy across from him lift a heavy chair with someone still seated in it the year before with ridiculous ease. He was part Leprechaun, which made him a powerhouse in human terms.

His Uncle Percy was eyeing Albus nervously for some reason. He was talking in lower tones to Gawain, who had remained silent for the most part. He seemed to be a solemn man letting his personable wife carry the conversation, but he reminded Albus of someone he had seen. He had no idea where.

Gwen was smiling at Albus' scrutiny, "So Albus are you ready to go back to school?"

Albus nodded feeling suddenly shy. "I don't have my books yet, but I suppose we'll get them today."

Uncle Percy interjected, "That's the plan."

Gawain nodded to his wife, "Let's get started. Gwen if you thought this bar was amazing, wait until you see Diagon Alley."

Albus sat up a little straighter, "You've been to Diagon?"

The tall man studied him a moment. "I was a part of the wizard world until I reached the age of eleven and no Hogwarts letter came," he explained, "it was suspected I was squib before then, but that clinched it."

Percy was looking uncomfortable for some reason, almost ashamed. Albus felt like he had strayed into a taboo subject but he had no concept of why. "So you were sent away to live with muggles?" he inquired cautiously.

Gawain's smile was wistful. "It's the way of the wizard world, Albus, once a child is determined to be squib they lose all legal status under wizard law, no inheritance or even citizenship. My parents split up, and she raised me in Sussex. In the wizard world, I was a non-entity, but out in the muggle world I could be normal. It was a kindness."

Albus felt something shift inside him. His world, the one that had nurtured him and embraced him his entire life had a dark side that no one mentioned.

Suddenly he knew where he had seen Gawain's face before. It was much older but he knew it. "You and Uncle Charlie, Bill and Percy were in a picture together on the wall at The Burrow. I asked about you they said you were their cousin, but they never mentioned you until I asked."

Percy was still looking uncomfortable, but he tried to explain, "Great Aunt Muriel told us for many years, Albus, that Gawain and his mum did not want anything further to do with the wizard world. She never told us where they where or how they were doing, since we had our own problems, financial and otherwise, eventually we forgot about him."

Gwen met her husband's eyes and gave his hand a squeeze; he gave her a nod to show he was okay.

Albus was not sure how to deal with this information, so he asked the next question that came to mind, "I know Great Aunt Muriel was a bad person, no one ever has nice things to say about her, but what did she have against Gawain?"

Percy sighed and slumped a bit; with his perfect posture, it was noticeable. "Great Aunt Muriel was Gawain's grandmother. His father was Galahad Prewitt, her son and my mum's first cousin. If Gawain had not been born squib, you would be looking at the inheritor of Black Briar Manor.

-

The rest of the morning, they moved from shop to shop. Gwen asked questions as her husband remarked about where shops were located when he was young. Albus noticed that Cormac had already become comfortable with the couple. As Gwen fussed over him about his robe fit, his ears turned pink from embarrassment just a like a normal boys would. Gawain seemed to be content soaking in the atmosphere of the world that had rejected him. He watched his wife and their new foster son with a quiet contentment, letting them do most of the interaction, but responding to Cormac easily. It was apparent to Albus that whatever resentment he may have harboured, it was not going to affect his treatment of Cormac. Albus found himself admiring that.

He and his Uncle Percy hung back a bit walking down the street. Uncle Percy had Albus' cauldron, and his bag from the robe shoppe. Albus had just looked at his new DADA textbook with disgust. _Reasons to Run_ by I. B. Fraidy, it was most likely Atticus Pharrel's choice of curriculum, at least Albus hoped so. He really did not like the idea of another year of dry DADA theory like the last, out of all of his classes, that class was the the one that he had the most unanswered questions about. Luckily, it was going to be revealed when he got to Hogwarts in a day or so.

He found he had some questions for Uncle Percy since they were now out of earshot.

"Why is it that you are in touch with Cousin Gawain, and no one else in the family talks to him?"

His uncle sighed. "You always ask the hard questions don't you."

"I'm sorry," Albus began.

His uncle chuckled. "It's okay Albus that was not a complaint. I've always liked how your mind works."

They continued a step or two in silence as his uncle formulated his answer. "There is a lesson we all must learn sometime in our lives Albus," he began. "That lesson is, no one is perfect. Not even your Uncle Percy." His voice trailed off a bit, "Especially your Uncle Percy."

He cleared his throat and continued. "I was very ambitious growing up. I believe I mentioned earlier that we were not in the best financial shape. I was bothered by that more than anyone, except maybe your Uncle Ron. When I achieved twelve O.W.L.S, I assured myself a nice position in the Ministry. I thought your grandfather's job was rubbish, I was so arrogant those days, and I had my eye on the Minister of Magic position."

He walked a minute in silence like what he was about to share was difficult. "The Ministry and Dumbledore split over whether or not Voldemort had actually returned, my family backed Dumbledore, and I took the Ministry's side." Albus stared at him openly aghast. He just could not believe that his uncle would ever do such a thing. Uncle Percy glanced down and saw his expression and smiled "People change Albus., That is lesson number two for the day."

He picked up the narrative, "I missed my family desperately, but I was too proud to go back and admit I was wrong, so I looked for the only family that I felt I had left. I felt a kinship with the banished cousin I barely remembered, so I had someone perform a locator spell, and I showed up unexpectedly at his accounting firm. After all that time he knew me as a Weasley on sight, still not sure how."

Albus glanced at his uncle's freckles and thin but still distinctive red hair and remarked, "No idea, Uncle Percy."

Uncle Percy gave him that look he usually reserved for those times when he was certain that someone had made a joke, but had no idea what it was. He started back with the story, "He took me home to meet Gwen, and when I married Audrey those two became friends as well. Gawain asked me not to mention him to the rest of the family, because he thinks it would open up wounds better left closed. I still want to bring him back into the family, but I still haven't figured out how to accomplish that as of yet. Some diplomat I turned out to be," he remarked derisively.

Albus suddenly had an idea. "Christmas is at Black Briar this year, isn't it Uncle Percy?"

His uncle continued on a couple of steps, and then he laughed, gave Albus a slap on the back. "It is isn't it?"

Albus grinned. He thought he had reached the limit of respect for the slender man who was walking beside him, but now that he knew more of his mistakes and flaws, if it were possible, he respected him more.

_That was lesson number three, Uncle Percy._ .

* * *

**Thought of the Day:** JK seemed pretty keen on covering the plight of the house elves, why not mention the challenges that face squibs? They are humans, they know the wizard world but are not allowed to live in it fully...no wonder Filch was such a cantakerous old coot!


	4. Chapter 4 MalPractice

I just wanted to thank JK for her world, and her continued generosity with it! These are her toys! I own any OC's that appear, they're MINE ALL MINE! BWahahahaaah! Sorry little touch of megalomania there. So enjoy my take on the continuing saga of the epilogue to DH.

**Chapter Notes:** Okay where have I been...short answer, nowhere pleasant. I have been dabbling in other fandoms for a bit just to clear my head. I am still working on BBS though guys, so don't fear.

This chapter is the start of a battle of wills you are going to see all throughout the series...I'm sure you'll spot it. Scorpius is going to find that being in his father's good graces might be just as perilous as not hearing from him for months. Malfoys don't do anything halfway!

I am testing out a new beta...so hoping things will come faster from now on. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's short but I think it has layers. Thanks for your patience we will pick up some speed with the next chapter. You guys are about to meet someone very special. See you there.

_**Bart**_

* * *

**Albus Potter and the Black Badger Society**

**Chapter4: Mal-Practice...**

The rest of the day proceeded as planned. Albus finished his shopping, bade Uncle Percy, Cormac, and Cormac's foster parents goodbye at the door to Tri-W, and met up with Rose in the Tri-W office. He found her sitting in the opulent red and oak wood panelled room, glaring at him from Aunt Angel's chair, probably for being late; he knew she hated Quidditch and was not looking forward to spending the next couple of hours watching it. Albus saw another reason she was being crabby. She had actually dressed up a bit, her bushy brunette hair tamed into a small pink hair bow, which most likely had not been her idea.

"Where have you and Scorpius been? The party will be starting in less than half an hour!" she demanded, giving him a look he had rarely seen beyond the morning hours. "Where's Scorpius?" she asked, looking over Albus' shoulder.

Albus set his packages down and tried not to let his disappointment show. "His father asked him to go to the stadium early, so he could give Scorpius his present."

Rose rolled her eyes. "That dumb prat was supposed to be our way to the stadium, Albus, he has the Portkey."

Albus really had not given it much thought. He sighed as he sat in the chair across from her. "Surely Scorpius would have planned a back-up for us," he remarked. Rose gave him one of those you're-being-really-naive-looks.

"Mistress Rose?" came a sweet voice from the door. They looked up to see Sweedy standing there. Albus saw an expression on her face he could not remember ever seeing before. The sweet little elf was angry. "Oh hi, Master Albus," she said with a curtsey. "There is an...elf insisting that he see you." Albus heard the hesitation in her voice and he wondered what could have possibly upset her.

When they walked into the hallway, Albus recognized the visitor immediately.

Snoddy was the Malfoy Manor head house elf. He was tall for his kind, with doleful gray eyes and a tuft of silver hair between his ears parted down the middle. He was wearing the traditional tea-towel but somehow making it look sophisticated. He had his arms crossed as if he did not want to touch anything surrounding him.

"Oh there you are. Master Scorpius bade me come and take you to the stadium after I had completed his shopping. I wish to be on my way. Might I add, the service here is atrocious?"

Sweedy was literally steaming, and Albus could see why. Scorpius got along with most of the house elves, but Snoddy was not his favourite by any stretch.

Rose turned to Albus. "Did you bring our birthday present?" she asked. Albus suddenly remembered. Dashing back into the office, he found his expansion-charmed bag and fished around until he found the long cylindrical package with the Snitch tied into the bow. That particular Snitch was the one that Scorpius caught to win the Quidditch Cup for Hufflepuff the year before, but he had let it go in the distraction that followed. Rose had thought to grab it for him, so they combined presents.

Albus came back out of the office into a confrontation between Sweedy and Snoddy.

"Sweedy is a free elf, she serves because she wishes to. You need to leave, now sir."

Snoddy looked undaunted. "Snoddy will leave when he decides to. There is nothing you can do about it, free elf or no," he said confidently.

Sweedy put two long fingers into her mouth and blew in a piercing whistle. Suddenly there was a pop, and Dinky stood there in a puff of smoke. The tip of his left ear was on fire. He moved his goggles back on his head.

Snoddy backed away; even though Dinky was small for an elf, seeing someone standing there unconcerned about his ear hair being on fire was intimidating, regardless of size. Dinky wet his fingers, reached up, and doused it casually.

Sweedy regained her composure. "Sir was saying?"

Snoddy's left ear twitched. "Sirs?" he asked, looking back to Albus and Rose. "Grab my hands, it is time to leave."

Sweedy nodded triumphantly. "Mistress Rose, Master Albus, have a good time," she told them.

Dinky waved animatedly.

Albus and Rose looked at each other hesitantly, then each took one of Snoddy's small hands. With a pop and a crushing feeling that lasted a moment, they landed in a fog-covered field.

The current location of the Puddlemere/Chuddley game was a deserted stretch of ground in Exmoor National Park, situated in the counties of Devon and Somerset. It was the newest stadium in the league. At one time, the ministry thought to protect it with invisibility charms and enchanted glasses, but there was a problem actually finding it, so they came up with the magic fog.

On the edge of the field, a man in official-looking robes was accepting tickets from people as they popped in, some using Portkeys. Snoddy waved them irritably toward the man and popped out.

-

Rose produced both of their invitations with the tickets and handed them to the man. He nodded them through. They walked forward, pushing through a turnstile that seemed to be suspended in mid air. The veil of fog was nearly overwhelming as they walked forward and came out into a cavernously large room. It had the Puddlemere Navy colours everywhere with the crossed gold bulrushes. Several wizards, spelled blue with gold hair, nodded as Albus and Rose walked by.

Large arches up slightly inclined ramps led into the Pitch area. There was a rousing chorus of "_Beat Back Those Bludgers, Boys and Chuck the Quaffle Here!_" in progress out on the proper.

This was obviously Puddlemere territory, but occasionally Albus saw a brave soul in Chudley orange and black, being eyed like a weasel dropped in the Hippogriff pen.

There was a moving stairway leading up between the ramps. Rose seemed to know the way, so he followed her. He knew she would have found a floor plan somewhere and researched it thoroughly; she had a phobia about being lost.

Albus couldn't help but remember the one time they had gotten separated from Uncle Ron on a trip to Diagon and found themselves somehow in Knockturn Alley with no idea how they got there, Rose had been panicked to the point of paralysis. It was not a good thing at the time, but since he was the one that always showed weakness when they were together, it made Albus feel better about himself when he was able to take the lead and get them back to familiar ground. That moment had been brief because to his knowledge Rose had never been lost again.

They got onto the moving stairs and as soon as they made the next level, they took the next moving stairway up until they had reached the top level.

There was a noticeable change up here; it was opulently carpeted and quiet, as if muffling enchantments were in place. There were attendants making sure nobody wandered up here that was supposed to be in the cheaper seats nearer to the ground.

A large burly wizard with a sour disposition loomed over them long enough to point them to one of the Air Box doors.

They were evidently the last to arrive. They were in for a shock.

The room was decorated in all four Hogwarts House colours, and there was a large mix of students from their year and older arrayed throughout the room. Some of the partygoers were at the bank of windows, talking to one another animatedly or acting bored to show that the view was nothing new to them. Others congregated among the tables of food. Groups had already formed, and the gossiping had commenced.

"See anyone from Hufflepuff?" Albus muttered to Rose.

"Us," was her reply.

Draco Malfoy, tall and elegant despite a receding silver hairline, was making his rounds to ensure that everyone was comfortable. He saw Albus and Rose and bestowed a nod upon them. "Rose, Albus, how nice that you could join us. I trust that Snoddy was prompt?" he said in that haughty purr that passed for his voice.

Rose nodded. "He was a bit rude to the elves at Tri-W though," she answered.

Draco tilted his head and pursed his lips, like that was the most dreadful thing he had ever heard. "I'm sorry about his behaviour; he will be reprimanded. Please, mingle, enjoy yourselves. The guest of honour will arrive to greet you himself, shortly.

He glided away from Albus and Rose, having acquired his next target from among the adults.

Rose nudged Albus and pointed out two blond boys approximately their age. One was shorter and stouter with hair cut short, while the other one was tall with careless curls. Both wore Gryffindor pins.

"Callum Wiegand, and Allen Baldwin?" Albus murmured, aghast. "Scorpius surely didn't invite those two gits!"

The previous year the two boys in question had managed to place themselves squarely in the category of enemy, even trying to sabotage Hufflepuffs' House Cup chances. It made no sense that Scorpius would invite them now.

Rose glanced around nervously. "I don't think Scorpius invited these people. I recognize several of the adults as Wizagamot connected, and some of these students have wealthy parents. This isn't a birthday party, unless you are celebrating Draco Malfoy's ambition."

Albus was not paying full attention to her. He noticed a young man standing over by the windows beside the huge pile of presents, and he was not chatting with anyone, but quietly stealing food from the buffet. He looked bland and unremarkable, with dark hair and eyes. His clothes were a tad bit sloppy, but he looked comfortable.

Albus nudged Rose and nodded in the young man's direction.

She stared for a minute, and then she started murmuring, "He slouches, has a bottomless cauldron for a stomach, makes even expensive robes look wrinkled, yes I see it."

Albus gave Rose a wink. "How about we take our present, place it on the pile and let him overhear some gossip?"

Rose grinned. "Albus Potter, you have an evil streak. Yes let's do."

They linked arms and strolled over casually. Albus placed their long cylindrical package among the many others.

"So you're saying you saw Victoire with another man?" he asked Rose. "I didn't think that was possible!"

Rose eagerly nodded her head. "I know! I thought she was in love with Teddy! I guess since Teddy won't pop the question, she's starting to move on now that she's graduated from Hogwarts."

Albus eyed the young man and saw him give a start, settle back into his disinterested slouch, but with an ear cocked in their direction.

"I am appalled!" Albus declared, his tone indicating how dismayed he was. "Teddy is the warmest, kindest, sweetest guy we know, how dare she!"

Rose could not help herself, letting out a giggle at that.

The young man suddenly tensed. He turned and glared at the twosome, his hair and facial features suddenly snapping back into his distinctively handsome face as his hair turned its usual shade of turquoise. "Very funny," Teddy Lupin growled.

Albus grinned and gave him a light punch on the arm as Rose curtsied.

"I was sure you'd see right through us as soon as we mentioned that Vickie was with another man, to be truthful," Albus exclaimed. Teddy glanced out the windows guiltily, causing Rose and Albus to exchange a look. "You actually think she would do something like that?"Albus said in a shocked whisper.

Teddy shrugged, "I don't know. She's so perfect, any guy would want to be with her. I don't know why she's been with me this long."

Albus knew better than to expect much from Rose; she normally could do little in the way of conversation around Teddy Lupin, as something about the handsome boy gave her what James called "Lupinlock." His cousin, however, shocked him with a loud snort of derision.

"You are kidding right?" she said in a very dangerous tone that everyone acquainted with her but Scorpius, who seemed immune, knew meant trouble.

Teddy showed his familiarity with that tone—he tensed, then glanced at her warily. He was familiar with Weasley women and their tempers but had never been the target of a Rose tirade before, so he made the mistake of disputing her. "No I'm not kidding."

Albus backed away from between them. He was no fool.

Rose's face had turned an interesting red, her many freckles nearly blending into the skin. "Why oh why would she be interested in you?" she began. "You're one of the best looking blokes in the British Isles, you are a rare metamorphmagus, and you're athletic, heroic, smart, kind to those weaker than you, and using all those skills to put yourself in harm's way for the sake of wizardkind as an Auror." Rose closed in for the kill. "She has loved you from the moment you lot were put into the same playpen; there has never been anyone else for her. After eighteen years of her unyielding devotion, you doubt her now?"

Teddy looked taken aback. He had always known about Rose's crush on him, and he had always been kind, but to have her pin him against the bank of windows was a reminder that the Granger side of Rose Weasley only made her more dangerous.

"Okay! I'm sorry, you're right. What can I do to back you off?"

Rose's anger suddenly evaporated. "Put a ring on her finger, you dumb prat, we Weasley women want our happy ending."

Teddy gave her that lopsided grin that he acquired from his Godfather Harry. "All right already. I've already got the ring, it was grand mum's, I've just been working up the courage."

Rose crinkled her nose cutely. "So, I won't have to hex you after all."

Albus smirked at Teddy's helplessness over Rose's shoulder, where she could not see. As Rose backed away and checked out the buffet, Teddy exchanged a look with Albus and mouthed, "Wow!"

"Attention please," Draco said suddenly, clinging silverware against a silver goblet. "If you will watch the field, I think you will find this amusing."

Suddenly the announcer belted out. "Today we have a surprise for you Puddlemere fans. Leading your United out onto the field of battle, now flying the finest broom currently on the market, is the best Seeker Hogwarts has seen in many years, and the daring genius who pulled out "The Last Dive of the Firebolt" last year...Scorpius Malfoy!"

There was a roar as out of the tunnel shot a slender blond boy leading a navy and gold robed contingent. He swooped close to the stands with effortless ease, leading the professionals like he was born to it. Albus saw the joy on his face as he zoomed by.

Teddy watched in awe. He was a top Seeker at Hogwarts, so he knew a flyer when he saw one. "Wow, I knew he could fly, but wow."

Rose rolled her eyes. "There will be no dealing with him after this!"

Albus realized the broom Scorpius was flying was a SkyBolt. The revolutionary ceramic broom just hit the market this year; Albus' brother James had dominated Hogwarts the year before with a prototype.

Suddenly Albus' gift seemed childish and lame. He walked over and pulled the Snitch off the bow with a pop, hastily changed the labelled tag to wrap around it, and brought the long cylindrical package over to Rose.

"Is your purse extendible?" he murmured

She was watching the display out on the field and he shocked her a little. "Yeah, of course it is, why?"

He gave her the present. "Hide this."

She gave him the "you're being daft" look. "It's your present, Albus."

He rolled his eyes. "I know that. He's got a SkyBolt now; just hide it so I can get him a better one later."

She placed a hand on her hip, so like Aunt Hermione. "I'm saying, it's your present, so that makes it important, Albus, you think he has a lot of best friends?"

Albus' eyes swept the assemblage. "I think he has a lot of new candidates for the position."

Rose snatched the package out of Albus' hand. "If he can't see that his dad is trying to pick his friends for him, then you're right, he won't have use for your present."

She opened her little purse and began to sink the long object into a place over to the side of the cavernous interior.

Albus watched as his friend zoomed by for another pass while the crowd roared.

"Not good."

* * *

**Thought of the Day:** Rose Weasley is a mix of two very different people. I read stories all the time that have Rose as being mini-Hermione, but I think that does not serve her very well. I think that when you add in that bit of Ron into the mix, you get someone who has a worse temper, less control over what they say, and a greater vocabulary to say it. How can Rose Weasley not be a social armageddon waiting to happen? I hope you like my little bombastic Rose as much as I do.


	5. Chapter 5 Enter, The Hunter

I just wanted to thank JK for her world, and her continued generosity with it! These are her toys! I own any OC's that appear, they're MINE ALL MINE! BWahahahaaah! Sorry little touch of megalomania there. So enjoy my take on the continuing saga of the epilogue to DH.

**Chapter Notes:** I have been struggling kids. If you want to know where these chapter updates have been, that is the long and short of it. I know the entire plot of the book. I know where I want to go with it, and how I want to get there for the most part. This book **WILL** be written. Does that mean I will begin to pick up speed, I don't know at this point, I certainly hope so! The truth is Albus Potter and the Year of the Badger was plotted in my head for years before I put it down so I was able to keep up a weekly writing schedule, that is not the case this time. I never planned on writing other books because I never expected YotB to become the phenomenom it has. I am delighted it did, and I love these characters and I am still having a ball writing them, but it's coming slow and it's coming hard. So please bear with me.

That being said this chapter introduces you to a character who has been breaking furniture in my brain for months now, since I conceived him before chapter 20 in YotB. It is my pleasure to finally get him onto the page, he was the reason for the delay. I have been debating how to introduce him to our happy family. I hope you like him.

He is going to be controversial, however, because I am bringing a Yank over to the HP universe. Some might see that as sacrilegious. Who knows Albus might not always stay in England for the entire run of my book series...that is all I'll say to that.

I would read the previous chapter first so you can get caught back up. Oh and btw the new Character's picture is on my profile if you want to go have a look!

Special kudos to the reviewer who catches the shout out to JRR Tolkein.

thanks for your patience!

**Bart **

* * *

**Albus Potter and the Black Badger Society**

**Chapter5: Enter The Hunter...**

The Hogwarts Express pierced the air with a shrill whistle as Albus pushed through the barrier at 9 ¾ into the smoke swathed platform.

Albus felt a little overwhelmed with nostalgia. He succumbed to it needing something to distract him from his thoughts.

The night before-at the party-things had not gone well.

-

Scorpius, arriving at the gathering after his circuit around the field and carrying his gleaming black SkyBolt, had been immediately mobbed by the other students. Rose and Albus stayed back and waited for him to approach them. He waved once but for the most part stayed in the larger crowd. They exchanged a look-Rose's lips clenched in a thin line-but they let him have his moment.

Teddy leaned down at one point, "I love my cousin but he's acting like a git. Don't worry, he'll snap out of it."

Rose nodded, "He'll snap out of it or I'll _snap_ him out of it!"

Albus wanted to be indignant, but he could not help but feel that this might have been inevitable; perhaps last year was the aberration.

Scorpius did look at Albus when he began opening his presents. He came across the Golden Snitch that had the tag from he and Rose; along with Lily's rolled up picture. He studied it curiously and glanced up at Albus. He almost looked hurt, then thanked them and went on to the next gift.

They finally had a chance to talk later on, when Scorpius approached them. "So did you guys enjoy the party?"

Albus spoke before Rose could tirade, hoping that she would take his lead, "Yes, we had a good time, I couldn't help but notice there doesn't seem to be many here that we know though."

"Callum and Allen?" Rose hissed scandalized.

Scorpius just shrugged. "Yeah I know, Dad said we needed to invite them, to make peace with the Gryffindors. It's all political, you know. I have to go; I will talk to you tomorrow. I'll save you a seat on the Express, we'll catch up." He walked off making his way to another group like a good host, obviously following some Malfoy protocol.

Rose looked completely taken aback. "Did Scorpius just agree with me?!"

Albus could only nod in response.

-

"Hey, get out of the way," James said as he batted Albus' trolley to the side with his own as he cleared the barrier. James' spotted owl Loki hooted triumphantly as Albus' black eagle owl Nox glared. "This is not the place to count centaurs Albus," James remarked with a smirk as he strolled by.

Albus just glared as James waved at one of his cronies further down the platform; it turned out to be Grayson Wood, who had his arm around Albus' cousin Dominique's waist, both of whom were on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Fred Weasley slipped out from behind a tall baggage trolley and slipped something down James' robes. Soon there was smoke and James doing a strange hopping half-dance as he attempted to get away from what was in his robes while simultaneously attempting to fish it out. Fred gave Albus thumbs up as he laughed uproariously. When James turned to glare at him, Fred held up his prefect badge with a wicked grin, no doubt caused by visions of how many ways he was going to abuse his privileges this year.

"They are all so immature are they not?" said Rose as she pushed her baggage up beside Albus'. Her screech owl, Celestina, let out an ear splitting call of hello to Albus' owl, which caused Nox to grimace.

Lily was once again being dramatic about not being able to go for another year as Albus' parents followed her through with Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione in tow. Hugo remained distracted by something he had seen on the other platform and was daydreaming with a frown of concentration pinching his face.

"But why can't I at least ride with them to Hogsmeade?" Lily whined, "Uncle George visits the WWW branch down there every day; I can just floo home with him."

Albus' dad actually looked like he was considering it, but Ginny sighed knowing that she had to be the villain once again. "Absolutely not Lils, you know better, you'll get your chance next year, and then Merlin help Hogwarts."

Lily crossed her arms and pouted like a champion, but Albus' mum had seen the entire act before.

Aunt Hermione was quietly arguing with Hugo as Uncle Ron strolled up to Albus and Rose. "You got everything you need then?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Yes Father..." she intoned sarcastically.

Ron glared at her for being cheeky, "I'm just trying to see you off, quit being difficult."

Rose gaped at him, "Me...Difficult?"

Things would have degenerated but Aunt Hermione strolled up with Hugo in tow, "We'll see you two for Christmas, unless you pull the same drama you did last year."

Rose glanced down the dock, and upon seeing no blond haired Malfoy in attendance, turned back to her mum and calmly said, "I think it's a safe bet you'll see us for Christmas this year Mum."

Uncle Ron smiled and ruffled Albus' hair, "Take good care of my Rosie, Al, try not to get into so much trouble this year, alright?" Albus glowered at him as he tried to slick his hair back down. "We'll stay out of trouble like you, Dad, and Aunt Hermione did," he said with a grin as he swiped at his cowlick.

His dad caught that last bit. "You don't have to follow in our footsteps you know, I would prefer it if you didn't, truth be known," he said as he and Albus' mum joined them.

His dad gave Albus and Rose one-armed hugs while his mum and Aunt Hermione were a lot more open about embracing them. Albus' mum paused and said in his ear, "You're a Potter, and a Weasley, I know that, but try to stay safe anyway? For your mum's sake, please?"

Albus nodded. It was annoying that they thought he looked for trouble. He did not intend to seek it out. If last year was any indication, there was no need to go looking, it would find him soon enough.

They went to get aboard when Albus heard voices at the next doorway down.

"You know what I told you."

"But Mum, they're my friends."

They exchanged a glance then both looked at the source of the argument.

Gaspar Boon was red-faced and pulling away from a tall willowy woman red with aggravation. He had his school trunk with a sleeping fat owl on top and a cap in his hands twisted by his embarrassment.

His mum glanced up at Albus and Rose and made a face as if she had tasted something green. She grabbed Gas' arm. "I don't care how they wound up in Hufflepuff, they belong in Gryffindor with the rest of that risk taking lot, and I want you to keep your distance. Mind your mum now!"

Gas yanked his arm free of her grasp. "I love you Mum, but I can't promise to do that. Please don't make me lie to you."

She glared at Albus and Rose as if they had caused her son's behaviour. With one last sigh and a quick hug of her son, she turned and stalked through the barrier leaving a silence in her wake. Gas stood there looking forlorn and stricken. Albus' heart went out to him.

"So introduce us to your friend," Albus' mum said breaking the silence.

Gas' jaw dropped when he realized he was sharing the platform with all three of the golden trio. Albus was expecting the usual fainting spell, so he quickly moved to stand with Gas to prop him up .

Albus' dad moved up and held out a hand. "I remember you from last year, Gaspar Boon isn't it?"

Gas nodded eagerly and nearly took his idol's hand off shaking it. He graciously accepted Albus' mum's greeting, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione shook his hand in turn, and the normally chatty little boy was speechless as he met the persons he had only read about.

The train whistle blew reminding them that they had to get aboard.

They pushed their stuff aboard and waved goodbye as the train began to take off. Lily ran a few steps with Hugo in tow until they left the platform behind.

Gas turned to them bashfully, "Sorry about my mum, she's always being dramatic. I'm all she's got."

Albus smiled. "She's got a point you know, we do seem to attract our share of trouble and this year might be even more than the last."

Gas grinned, "Merlin I hope so!"

They all sniggered at that. They went to find Scorpius but his compartment was full up. Many of the students that were at his party the night before were crowded in. He was saying something waving his arms as if he was imitating his amazing diving Snitch catch from the final game the year before; his compartment mates were all enthralled.

Albus' face fell in disappointment. Rose glared though the glass at the blond boy before tugging Albus to keep going.

"Why aren't you guys sitting with Scorpius?" Gas asked innocently.

Rose looked as if she was sorting through her vocabulary of vile invectives before she settled on, "You'll have to ask the prat when we get to Hogwarts, if you can get past his entourage that is!"

Albus had no comment.

They kept going until suddenly they arrived at a compartment that was empty. They all exchanged a look. The Hogwarts Express was always full, to have an empty compartment was an oddity indeed. Albus thought it might be locked, but it slid open easily.

They cautiously entered wondering if it was a trap. For Albus, that was a distinct possibility. Nothing happened though, so they settled in. He noticed something strange occur whenever another student happened by, they all unconsciously swerved away from the door.

He shook the sudden sense of foreboding and asked Gas, "Where is Cormac? I thought he'd be on the Express."

Gas shrugged, "He sent an owl to say that he was getting some sort of diplomatic treatment by flooing into the Headmaster's. His mum is a Leprechaun Princess after all."

Rose and Albus gaped at him, "You knew?"

Gas had a sad smile on his face, "I might hit the floor anytime Harry Potter's about, and I know I seem a bit daft, but I'm not."

Albus immediately felt bad. "We never thought you were, Gas." Rose eagerly nodded her agreement. If someone needed to taken down a notch, Rose was the one to do it, but when it came to making someone feel better, she always left that to Albus.

Gas shrugged it off, "Yes you did, but that's okay. I don't mind."

They all sat a moment staring at the passing countryside, until the panel being slid back shook them from their revelry.

They looked up as a smaller man carrying a cane and a valise slipped inside. He turned after shutting the door. "This car looked empty, I hope you all don't mind if I sit a spell."

He was dressed in a brown tweed suit with a blue vest, his hair was a well-trimmed sandy blond and parted carelessly, a brown beard covered a strong jaw, his eyes were an intense bright blue. What was most surprising was his smooth baritone voice's heavy accent. It was laid back and drawn out, almost indecipherably so.

Albus indicated the bench opposite. The man nodded to him and settled in with a weary sigh. "I know that adults don't normally travel on this train with you, but I don't know my way around these parts, I was told that this was the fastest way there."

Gas, not one to stay speechless for long asked, "Where is that?"

The man smiled. "Why, Hogwarts of course. Ever hear of the place?"

Rose did what she always did when she was uncomfortable around someone, her face flushed with anger. "Of course! This is the Hogwarts Express after all, you did notice all the robes as you walked the aisles?"

The man surprised them by laughing. "I'm going to have to get your name, young lady; I think I might have my hands full with you."

Albus had been noticing little things about the man. He had a thick leather glove on his left hand, it had small scratch marks on it, and the cane he grasped in his right was a roughly carved dark wood with a dark blue unpolished rough-cut stone at the top. His valise was battered and worn, as if it had traveled many long miles, and it had two letters monogrammed on it.

_OC_

"You're a Yank, are you not?" Albus asked suddenly. Then he realized he had just pulled a Rose-like outburst. "I mean, are you from America, sir?"

The man gave Albus a curious look. "Yes, I am as a matter of fact."

Albus smiled and held out his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Cody."

The man smiled, pulled off the heavy leather glove, and accepted Albus' hand. "The pleasure is all mine, Mister Potter."

Albus' countenance fell as his stomach gave a lurch. "You know who I am?"

Orion Cody smiled. "I would be remiss in my new duties if I didn't."

Rose and Gas watched the exchange back and forth, as if watching a Quidditch match with a lot of turned over Quaffles.

Rose' patience wore thin and she blurted out, "_Who_ are you?"

Orion reached into his valise and pulled out a battered wooden box. "I hear tell that you play chess, Albus, care to give me a try?"

Albus saw Rose was steamed that she had been ignored, so to keep the peace and because he wanted an excuse to talk to the man some more, he nodded and fished his own chess case out of his book satchel. While he was in there, he also reached in and tossed his copy of Paranoia Justified to Rose.

_This is Orion Cody, THE Orion Cody, and he wants to play chess with me!_ Albus thought to himself excitedly.

Rose read the cover on the volume and glanced over at the man who was laying out some chipped black chessmen on his side of a battered board. Her jaw dropped, she was well aware of Albus' favourite book; he had carried it with him everywhere since he received it Christmas last. She mouthed to Albus, _"That__'__s him?"_ Albus answered with a happy nod. She immediately turned to Gas and showed him the book, talking excitedly. Albus was sure that her animation was over the fact that Orion was a _published_ author than over the contents of the book, or any other accomplishment the man may have done.

The older man reached into his coat, instead of pulling out a pipe or a tobacco product of some sort, he pulled out a small plastic container and popped what looked like a small square of gum into his mouth chewing absently as Albus set his side of the board up. Then Orion pulled out a pair of bifocals and with a practiced flick opened them and slipped them on the end of his nose.

"Go ahead and make the first move, Mister Potter," he said congenially.

His blue eyes suddenly shifted, becoming cold and calculating; Albus felt as if they were dissecting him like a scalpel, causing his stomach to give a lurch.

Albus made the first move after some deliberation, sending one of his little pawns out.

Orion immediately called his counter move and his grim black chess piece moved into place.

It progressed from there with Albus making his moves carefully and Orion answering haphazardly, not even hesitating or looking at the board. After a while of this seeming insouciance, Albus began feeling insulted.

"I thought you were playing chess, sir," Albus remarked after a particularly disastrous move on Cody's part netted him the man's last knight.

Orion's eyes had never left Albus' face, a ghost of a smile flickered on his face. "I'm actually not here to play chess Albus," he said finally.

Albus felt confused, "Then what are you here for?"

Orion's face shut down and became unreadable, "I'm here to evaluate you, son."

Albus felt anger rising up inside, "Well, why not just ask me what you want to know, instead of this...charade?"

Orion cocked his head to the side, "Charade?"

Albus nodded, "You did put an Aversion Charm on the door, right?"

Orion laughed, "Very observant, Mister Potter, I think I have learned all I need to know."

He slipped the bifocals off and secreted them back in his coat pocket.

Albus was not going to let him go that easy, "Aren't you going to finish the game? Sir?"

Orion nodded. It was his move. Albus' side of the board still had a lot of pieces in place, while Orion's side was nearly empty. Suddenly Orion moved his bishop over in front of his other bishop so they both were on the same line, a path that ended at Albus' king.

"Checkmate in two moves, Mister Potter. Having too many pieces on your side can be a limitation, Albus, especially if you don't know your opponent. Thanks for the game."

Albus' jaw dropped as his tiny white king took off his crown and threw it down in disgust. The little chess piece turned and glowered at Albus, along with his subjects. Albus just shrugged. They were spoiled by success; Albus had not lost in a long time. He did not even see it coming.

Cody packed up his pieces, put them into his valise, and stood picking up his cane. "If you will excuse me lady and gentlemen, I have dawdled here long enough; I've got some unpacking to do."

He closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating, "I see, yes that's a good place, Gwaihir, see you shortly," he said speaking to the air.

"Goodbye," Orion stated, locking eyes with Albus one last time as he tapped the floor with his cane, and with a pop, he apparated.

Albus was staring at the spot where the man had been.

Gas had the right thing to say, "That...was...so...brilliant!"

Rose looked at the book still in her hands, "What is Orion Cody doing here, Albus?"

Albus grimaced, "I think we just met the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. I'm not sure I made the best first impression."

* * *

**Thought of the Day:** How might wizard kind have evolved in America, considering the presence of American Indian culture, the wide open space, and the lack of continuing historical influences of Britain Wizard culture. Room for thought?


	6. Chapter 6 Cat's Paw

I just wanted to thank JK for her world, and her continued generosity with it! These are her toys! I own any OC's that appear, they're MINE ALL MINE! BWahahahaaah! Sorry little touch of megalomania there. So enjoy my take on the continuing saga of the epilogue to DH.

**Chapter Notes:** This is the first Hogwarts chapter, this is the place it took me four chapters to get to last time, I hope that is not an omen! I worked hard to update this chapter less than a month from the last, it is the longest chapter thus far. I hope it is in keeping with the quality that I have been trying to maintain with this project. I had some laugh out loud moments in this chapter, things I absolutely enjoyed, I hope that translates to the reader. I also had to come up with a new Sorting Hat song which was the hardest thing I have written in some time!

All that being said please enjoy this installment!

**Remember to feed the beast, namely my ego with an good old fashioned R&R! **

* * *

**Albus Potter and the Black Badger Society**

**Chapter6: Cat's Paw...**

The trio had spent so much time speculating about the upcoming Defence Against the Dark Arts curriculum after Cody's departure that they almost missed the deceleration of the Express. They quickly changed into their school robes and left their things in the compartment to be taken to the castle separately. Albus did not like the thought of the defacto caretaker of Hogwarts, that slick and slimy goblin Growltooth, handling his belongings, but he really had no choice in the matter. He passed the aforementioned Growltooth, who nodded to him with a knowing look as his long claws stroked his small black beard. Albus returned the nod, not out of respect but out of a desire to stay on the creatures' good side, if he possessed one.

Suddenly Albus heard an odd distant call above. He glanced up in time to see a bird circling majestically in the dying light of the day, its wingspan was enormous. The next minute he saw it rocket towards the ground out of sight he could not see where it landed.

He was about to point it out to Rose, but he saw that she had her mind on other things. She was standing with her arms tightly crossed, and a murderous look etched on her face. Albus followed her line of sight and saw that Scorpius had made the platform and was chatting amicably with a group of girls, who found a way to giggle inanely at nearly every statement the boy was making. Scorpius glanced up and saw Albus and Rose, he excused himself from the group and came over.

"Where were you two?" he asked completely oblivious to the imminent danger he had placed himself in.

"Where were we?" Rose hissed.

Albus interrupted trying to forestall the carnage. "We stopped by the compartment and saw it was full up, so we kept going. Sorry about that,."

Albus said trying to smile and ignore the literal fumes rising off Rose's head.

"I would have asked them to move, you don't have to be mental about it." Scorpius declared airily.

Albus slapped his forehead. "I really wish you hadn't said that."

"Scorpius, sweetie," Rose said her voice dripping with honey and nectar.

Scorpius showed his usual obliviousness. "Since when did I become your sweetie?"

Rose smiled, but it was all gritted teeth like an attacking beast. "Oh since half past never, Mal-Boy, I was just going to remark that the day I allow you to "make room for me" when you had already agreed to "save me a seat" is the day I become a vapid little twit like your giggling little gaggle over there."

Scorpius smirked, "Oh? What's a matter sweetheart, jealous?"

Albus and Gas immediately moved for Rose's arms, her wand was halfway out. "Let me go, I won't do permanent damage, I promise."

"Iz there a problem here?" came a rumbling but friendly voice from overhead.

Hagrid was standing there with his lantern about to make his usual call for the fir's years. His bushy bearded face radiated goodwill, but there was caution in his eyes seeing the state of Rose. All the family friends knew the warning signs of impending meltdown.

Rose yanked her arms loose. "No problem, Hagrid," Rose remarked as she shot a scathing look that made the air boil in Scorpius' direction, "it can wait." She spun and stalked off towards the horseless carriages.

"What happen'd Alby, Rose is in a right snit," Hagrid inquired in a concerned tone.

Scorpius shrugged. "Who knows, she just goes mental sometimes."

Albus gaped at him, as Hagrid chuckled as if he had heard an explanation no one had imparted.

"Fir's years, Fir's years right this way," Hagrid bellowed as he walked away raising his lantern.

Albus and Gas exchanged a look. "Maybe you should stay away from Rose a little while Scorpius." Gas ventured.

Scorpius shrugged. "Her loss."

Albus made his way through the swirling steam and the sudden wind that had picked up; several advertisements from the local post board, including a Tri-W advertisement stuck to a missing person's request hit him in the face. He, Gas and Scorpius made it just in time to get in the last carriage. Albus was relieved to see it contained no giggling girls. Just a very scary one, dark hair, and eyes and lips, multiple piercings, she did not look like the giggling type. There were two fifth year Gryffindor boys quietly conversing, not even deigning to glance at all the lowly underclassmen. To his relief there were also Hufflepuffs in the carriage. Summer Sutherland, with her attractive blond curls sat across from them with her glasses-wearing, mousy little friend Iris Ivy. Summer flashed Scorpius and Albus a winning dimpled smile as bright as her namesake, Iris barely met their eyes, glancing up long enough to see Albus was looking at her, and then she buried her nose back in the book she had been holding.

The scary girl stared out at the lake as if it had offered offense, while the other's attempted small talk, well Gas did enough talking for them all. Even he went quiet when they made the turn up to the castle.

Albus was sure if he made the trip a thousand times he would never lose the impact of Hogwarts sprawled all over the hillside.

From the towering, twinkling, spires, to the fog wrapped lower levels and grounds the school existed on an island of cloud, magnificent and intimidating. The four-story arboretum sparkled like emerald glass, adding to the sheer majesty of the castle.

They passed through the massive winged boars atop the massive main gate and the carriages came to a stop at the main door where they all disembarked.

Albus saw that Rose had joined with Percy's twin daughters, Molly and Lucy, and had been relating to them the events of the evening, evidenced by the nasty looks they both gave Scorpius between their popped bubbles of Droobles gum.

"What have I done, exactly?" Scorpius murmured, seeing those glances. Albus sighed. "If you don't know, I'm not entirely sure I can explain it," he explained. Scorpius frowned at him and joined the stream of stream of students heading into the Entrance Hall.

Albus and Gas exchanged a look and followed. _This is going to be a long year!_

Albus smiled as he entered the massive room lined with gossiping wizard portraits and a ceiling far up in shadow. There, greetings students, was Hufflepuffs' Head of House, Professor Freya Bast.

She was going to get some glances from the first years no doubt, but students already acquainted with her waved or gave her no notice.

The former Auror, who taught the Transfiguration class, had long ash blond hair, but that was the only thing normal about her. Peeking out from that mane were two ears more commonly found on a house cat.

With bright amber eyes that seemed to attract and reflect the light around her, whiskers on a furry feline face, dainty fangs when she smiled and long claws on her tawny furred hands when she waved greetings at students.

Freya had been one of Albus' dad's best Aurors, before her last mission had resulted in her current condition, which was a partial but ongoing transfiguration into a house cat. Hit by a transfiguring curse from a mysterious witch who was selling transfigured Muggles as house pets in Knockturn Alley, Freya's reflexes kicked in and she managed to stun the crone before the spell completed, but her heart gave out and the spell she used died with her. Through the years of trying to halt the spell and reverse the affects, Freya had acquired an amazing amount of transfiguring knowledge, learning from everyone she could, even Minerva McGonagall herself, but she had had to retire from public life because of her looks. Albus' dad, still feeling responsible for her condition, made a requested to appoint her to the Transfiguration post at Hogwarts when the interim teacher that took over after McGonagall retired. Now Freya found acceptance and fulfilment as one of the most demanding but popular professors.

She received the appointment to the position she had coveted for years at the end of last year. She was now Hufflepuff's Head of House, and her charges could not be happier about it.

"Hey there, Professor Bast," Gas called out. She glanced up and her face lit up in a smile. "Why hello, Gaspar, I trust that your summer went well." Gas winced, "It was boring, glad to be back." She turned to Albus, "How about you Mister Potter? I hope your summer was uneventful as well," she remarked dryly with a hint of a smile under her whiskers.

Albus was about to reply when she suddenly scented the air and let out an evil cat-like hiss.

She seemed mortified by her action covering her mouth demurely, as she waved Albus closer with the other hand. "I'm dreadfully sorry about that. I must now ask you a strange question."

"A-anything Professor," Albus replied stammering a bit at her sudden change in behaviour.

"Did you happen to encounter a small man, with a strange accent and an eagle, I smell him on you," she asked her amber eyes blazing with a strange fire.

Gas answered for them, "He didn't have an eagle with him, but he did have an accent, he's from America, came to fill the Defence position."

Freya's eyes narrowed. "Orion," she said, but it had a hint of the same evil hiss she had let out earlier. As if realizing how disconcerting she had been, she smiled brightly. "Well go on in, if you need anything my door is always open to you, welcome back to Hogwarts."

With a swish of her tail, she swept off as if nothing had happened; Albus and Gas exchanged another look. _Okay maybe this year will be interesting. _

They made their way through the giant doors into the Great Hall. Gas saw Cormac midway down the colossal yellow, black-trimmed Hufflepuff table and waved animatedly causing Albus to speculate they had not been in contact lately. If Gaspar's mum was not impressed with Albus and Rose, she most certainly was not going to be happy him being friends with a part Leprechaun. Albus nodded at Cormac as he and Gas began catching up, well, as Cormac listened to the constant stream from Gaspar and attempted to get a word in.

Not wanting to eavesdrop on the two, Albus' eyes swept around the cavernous room, the spectacular chamber was, once again lit with thousands of flickering candles with no visible means of support. The towering windows reached up several stories into the spelled ceiling, which was showing a cloudy night sky, spotted with bright punctuation of stars and roving wind-blown clouds under a bright white moon partially veiled.

The tables where filling up with students, empty gold plates, silverware, and goblets at every setting. The table across the aisle to the right, decorated in midnight blue with bronze, was full of intense pupils settling in, most already in deep conversation. In the back of the table by the door sat a prematurely gray boy, whose hair had grown down to his shoulders over the last year. No one was sitting near Liam Donovan; and he did not seem to notice or care. His silvery eyes studiously studied his hands, he glanced up at Albus' scrutiny, as he always did, and caught Albus' eye briefly, and then his attention went back to his hands unconcerned. Albus let out a breath he did not even know he was holding.

Beyond the Ravenclaws was the deep green and silver table of Slytherin It was filling with a collection of glaring students, a mostly silent mob of intimidation. Albus saw his chief Slytherin rival, Kian Kerry, had grown a full head taller, so much his dark curly hair now reached the silent hulk Cameron Zambala's chest, he was already eye level with his other broad shouldered henchman Conner Janski. He was lounging and making pronouncements, most likely planning the overthrow of the wizard world. Kian had declared a truce with Rose the year before after their last run in, but Albus was not expecting it to last.

Albus turned back to his left after hearing a familiar laugh and saw a bunch of his cousins at the crimson and gold table beyond the Hufflepuffs. Fred was holding his prefect badge in his hand showing off to a group of girls while Roxy glared at her brother, tsking the ill-conceived decision to make him prefect. Rose was still talking to Molly and Lucy, who were showing more intense concentration than Albus had ever seen from them proving that maybe Uncle Percy was their dad after all. So focused were they that they were not even chewing their gum, or eyeing the boys eyeing them, it was ominous to be sure. Dominique Weasley and Grayson Wood were looking at each other so lovingly that Albus felt like a voyeur. James, however, was nowhere to be seen.

Swirling in and out of the entire assemblage were the Hogwarts ghosts.

Albus saw Father Thomas, known by most as, Fat Friar, and he made sure he caught the apparition's eye and waved. The rotund ghost waved back happily as he talked in earnest conversation with a Hufflepuff girl who looked glum. That was the Hufflepuff House ghost for you, always eager to lend an ear. The spectre could be an incurable gossip, but he had been keeping the important student secrets for hundreds of years. Albus had come to think of him as a friend.

Nearly Headless Nick was making his precarious verbose rounds, as was the elegant Grey Lady. The dour Bloody Baron was creeping students out from a distant corner near the Slytherins.

Albus sat down in a seat beside were Gas and Mac were still catching up, Scorpius shortly joined him just back across the room from a conversation he was having with Allen Baldwin at the Gryffindor table, he chose a seat on the other side of Albus from where Rose usually sat. Albus actually felt hope that things would return to normal for the trio, well at least what passed for normal. Rose showed she had completed castigating Scorpius to her cousins; as she came back, shot a scathing look at Albus' companion, and sat down turning her back on them both in a huff.

With the students, settling in Albus glanced up at the dais. He immediately decided that his Uncle Percy had the biggest gift for understatement ever conceived. There was a goddess up on the stage. She was sitting beside of Headmaster Shacklebolt, and the tall man in midnight colour robes with gold trim and a gold-trimmed kofia on his head, was normally intimidating and solemn. To Albus surprise, however, the Headmaster was smiling like a shy schoolboy as he and the lady conversed. She laughed and the musicality of the sound broke through the hum and everyone glanced her way. She had thick wavy hair like burnished bronze and bright brown eyes that looked closer to gold, and a deep Mediterranean tan. This vision had to be Chrys Euryale.

_Do not tell your Aunt Audrey I said this, but she is a looker!_ His uncle had said.

_Yeah Uncle Percy, she's a looker all right! _

"Who's that?" Scorpius murmured to Albus. Rose turned with a wicked smile, "I'm quite sure she's not a candidate for your fan club, in case you were wondering."

Scorpius glowered at her, as she turned her back triumphantly.

"Uncle Percy said her name is Chrys Euryale," Albus explained. He saw Rose perk up and listen as he explained who she was and why she was at Hogwarts. "Why this year and not the last," she asked keeping herself half turned so it was clear she was not including Scorpius in the conversation, "I mean last year was the twentieth anniversary of the actual date of the battle, right?"

Scorpius leaned in eagerly to correct her. "The ministry always start counting anniversaries from the first year the date is celebrated in ceremony; the first observance was the actual first anniversary. So according to the date established, this is the twentieth year." Rose shot him another evil look. "I knew that, the question was for Albus' benefit." She turned back with her arms crossed; Scorpius gave Albus a rueful smirk as he leaned back casually in his seat. His face shut down in that cold aristocratic way Albus had not seen from him in months. Things were devolving between them; Albus did not know how to stop it.

He glanced back up to the platform to see who else might be new. Slytherin Head and Potions professor, Arcturus Flint was semi obscured by pipe smoke, his dark eyes sweeping the room in contemplation, as inscrutable as always, evaluating, but never commenting, his goatee perfectly trimmed, baldhead shining in the candlelight.

Orion Cody, now dressed in robes, sat on the far end conversing politely with the challengingly intelligent Ravenclaw head and professor of charms, Padma Patil. Her sweet East Indian looks not quite distracting from the sharpness and intellect shining from her eyes. Albus saw with curiosity that Professor Bast, on the other side of Patil, was shooting that diminutive man glances that were not of a friendly nature. Freya Bast had travelled the world searching for a cure for her condition; Albus now wondered if America was one of those places she looked.

Albus breath caught, however, when he saw the man he had missed because of Chrys Euryales' beauty, sitting quietly at Shacklebolt's left hand, where he could be kept in view.

Then again, saying he was a man might not be the best word to describe Professor Hemophilias.

He looked like a turn of the century dandy, barely eighteen years old, with skin so pale as to almost be transparent. His dark hair was tight to his head, and never one to wear robes, he wore old-fashioned blue velvet garb with an ascot, Hemophilias' dangerous stare was obscured by round dark sunglasses. Considering what he was, wearing those was ironic say the least. A genuine Transylvanian vampire was not a common sight, the fact he was out of his quarters, a sure sign of relaxed restrictions, was not encouraging to Albus at all. Of course, his creepy fan club was absolutely ecstatic. Albus saw one of the Hemophiliacs, who had been circulating a petition the previous year, chatting and pointing excitedly. The History of Magic professor showed no sign that he cared, he just sipped his goblet, boredom clearly evident. Albus did not want to contemplate about the contents of that cup.

"When did they start letting Professor Bloodsucker out?" Scorpius whispered.

Albus shook his head, "I dunno, I hope this is a onetime event, or I might be asking Gertie for some garlic."

The side door bursting open drowned out a Scorpius snigger and the first years came in following Uncle Neville like a covey of baby quail.

Uncle Neville had been working his usual magic because the young students to be were smiling and at ease. Albus could not help but smile at the glassed perched on his honorary uncle's nose; he must have pulled his specs out to read the magically reappearing notes he did not need. For reasons beyond Albus, Uncle Neville liked to play the buffoon, and act disorganized when the truth was he was one of the most formidable wizards Albus had ever met, saving his life the previous year.

The students followed Neville to a lone stool between the students and staff. He picked up the scroll from his place at the table and patiently waited for everybody to line across the front so the Sorting Ceremony could commence.

"Here they are, safe and sound for the most part, Headmaster, we might have lost one or two in the lake, but the giant squid has not been fed lately," Neville called out. There were sniggers and eye rolls all around, some first years actually checked their numbers for the missing.

Shacklebolt just smiled and stood quieting the room. His voice resonated in the hall, unassisted by magic, but with a magic of its own. "I wish to welcome the newest students to Hogwarts. The necessary announcements are forthcoming, but as for now, let's get these bright young wizards Sorted."

Neville nodded and he brought out the stool and the battered old hat.

Since he was not being Sorted this year, and he knew no one that was, Albus tuned out of the proceedings somewhat, until that raspy voice rang through the Hall as the Sorting Hat began its song.

_You may prefer a derby, if that's the way you're bent,_

_You might consider a chapeau, the height of fashion sense,_

_A bonnet or a cloche, if you are a pretty lass,_

_Something with flowers upon it, but all done up with class,_

_You will however, never find a hat as fine as me,_

_On any shelf or wardrobe, or haberdashery,_

_I may not look like much, but none can do my job,_

_I alone can Sort you, but I am not a snob,_

_This distinction that I own, has not gone to my head,_

_I choose to remain humble, and sit on this stool instead,_

_Hufflepuff in years gone by, remains forever true,_

_If hard work and honesty is your want, then that is the place for you,_

_Slytherin has a past, of achievement and prestige,_

_If the ends justify the means, then Salazar is your liege,_

_Gryffindor has been glorious, blazing their own trail,_

_They fight to the end, and remain good friends, they don't know how to fail,_

_Ravenclaw has kept knowledge first, and have not let it fade,_

_Steadfast devotion to intellect, is their stock in trade,_

_So don't worry, my young ones,_

_There is a place for you,_

_A place to be whom you can be,_

_To fit in, to belong, to be true,_

_Just leave yourself in my hands,_

_I have never failed my task,_

_If you have any doubts, just look about,_

_You only have to ask!_

The hat took its bow as the Hall burst into applause. Albus clapped especially hard. He would be happy to confirm to any of the first years that the Hat had done right by him.

The year previous when he sat on that very stool thinking that he was surely a Gryffindor, the Hat had seen into his heart and found Hufflepuff there. Loyalty, hard work, and tenacity were attributes that Albus was happy to find in himself, and now, he could not see himself anywhere else. He knew that Rose and Scorpius felt the same way, they had all had a chance to choose their House when their Sorting came into dispute, the year before and they all stayed where they were with no hesitation.

Now with Professor Bast as their Head of House, Albus felt that things were only looking up. If he could help it, the House of the Badger would not fall back into the cellar of the least awarded. Pride was not only a Gryffindor trait.

His mind wandered throughout the Sorting, he was getting hungry, his stomach growled so loud that Rose spun and shot him a glare; he shrugged and glared at her for being mental.

_As if I can control my stomach, how long has she known me? Honestly!_

He cheered when the rest of his table cheered, and nodded as the students walked by to sit at his table. He noticed more than one of the students went pale or seemed intimidated when they realized who he was. He had to sigh at that. Even after twelve years of being in the public eye, he still felt self-conscious. He could not understand why Scorpius was reacting so happily to his new found celebrity, when Albus had spent his entire life trying to live it down!

"Vesper, Linda!" Uncle Neville called out; a little girl with bushy brown hair walked to the front, and received her sorting into,

RAVENCLAW!

They all cheered as Neville picked up the stool and Hat and the Sorting ceremony ended.

Shacklebolt stood, silencing the entire Hall with one majestic gesture of his hand.

"There are a few announcements for this year..."

Kingsley went on to announce Chrys Euryale, and her reason for being at Hogwarts. Albus noticed that the male population seemed to be excited, but the females viewed her with a mixture of trepidation and immediate dislike. Rose called over her shoulder to Albus. "I suppose she's attractive but you'd think she was Aphrodite herself the way these boys are acting."

Scorpius leaned forward, not missing his chance for conflict. "You suppose she's attractive? Rose, you need some specs, that lady is spectacular!"

Rose's ears went red, so did her neck, Albus backed his seat up a bit to get out of the line of fire, but she did not take the bait. Albus might have been worried about her behaviour before, but now he was definitely concerned. He could see from the way Scorpius leaned back in his seat that he was beginning finally to understand something was awry.

"Finally, we have a new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, his credentials for this job are extensive, as a matter of fact he might just be overqualified. We here at Hogwarts wish to extend out absolute warmest greetings to Professor Orion Cody."

The Hall rang with applause, Orion just nodded and turned back to Shacklebolt as if this was all old hat to him. Once again, Albus noticed that Professor Bast's applause was polite but lacking in enthusiasm.

"With all that being said, welcome to Hogwarts."

Shacklebolt brought his hands together in a loud clap and suddenly the tables filled with all sorts of delights. Roast beef and chicken, pork and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, roasted potatoes, fries, puddings, carrots, peas swimming in butter, ketchup, and shepherd's pie, and that was just what was immediately in front of Albus.

Albus wasted no time with proper table manners but dug in with an ecstasy of gluttony. He was making so much noise that bubbly little Gertrude Statham from across the table wrinkled her nose in disgust. Albus toasted her with a large Turkey leg and continued with his decimation. Scorpius, who could normally out eat Albus easily was picking at his food and shooting furtive glances at Rose. Rose was eating daintily and conversing with Cormac and Gas ignoring Scorpius and the rampaging Albus all together. She did turn an eye to Albus disdainfully at one point. "Merlin, Albus, I'm afraid to let my hand stray too far in your direction, I might lose a finger." Albus grinned around a mouthful. "If you do stray too far, I have ketchup." She gave him the appalled look he deserved, glanced past Albus and turned back to Cormac who was telling her and Gas about Gwen Prewitt's Muggle cooking.

Albus attacked a plum pudding next, and worked his way to a tasty treacle tart before his reign of devastation was complete. He sighed and burped, leaning back in his chair. He was going to be feeling his indulgence later but at the moment he was feeling good. He worried that he was channeling Uncle Ron or something, maybe the events of the last few days had caused him to long for Hogwarts and now he was safely here, his appetite returned to an unusual extent. He felt the absence of Grandma Weasley's reach as he contentedly picked his teeth with his fork. Suddenly, he received a smack on the back of his head like she would have done if she caught him doing that. He spun and glared to see Dominique slide by arm in arm with Grayson. "Behave like man, not an animal," she informed in that Grandma Molly tone. Albus rolled his eyes at her as she moved on laughing.

The proceedings were breaking up as the Hufflepuff Prefects took charge of the first years. To Albus' surprise, the two Prefects were familiar. Diana Delaney was the tall lean dark-skinned girl, hair up in elaborate plaits, who was the tough-minded captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. The boy scowling to her left, with the crew cut hair and dented chin, negative attitude obvious clear across the room, was Cornelius (don't call me Corny) Hamilton. While one of the best flyers at Hogwarts he had a fear of Bludgers, he came around the previous season and formed a solid Chaser trio with Albus and Diana. Albus glanced around the room for the other two returning members of the Quidditch team and saw them talking to Paige Hawkins from the Slytherin Quidditch team. They were two blond haired girls who looked like twins, but one was older. One had pink ribbons in her hair and the other had purple. Even though they looked very feminine, they both had muscular arms, and were two of the most brutal Beaters Hogwarts had ever seen. Not for the first time since he had known them, Albus was grateful that Violet and Valencia Chertov were on his team.

Paige Hawkins, the girl they were with was the best Chaser on Slytherin. She was Slender and long limbed with long thick flowing brown hair kept back in a ponytail, she had a face like a hawk with a beak like nose, and she was deadly with a Quaffle. Albus had watched her endure all manner of abuse the previous year from the previous Slytherin Quiddicth captain, Roq MacNast, known as MacNasty for good reason. Albus hoped that she would get better treatment from the new captain, but then again if she was utilized as she should be, it would make Slytherin harder to beat, so Albus would have to remain hypocritical to a certain extent.

The sisters gave him a wave as he walked through the door with Scorpius. He turned to go down the stairs and realized that there was some sort of hold up. Hufflepuff students were stopped and staring at something above the stairwell leading down to the kitchen and the Hufflepuff common room. He saw what it was immediately.

There was a student in Hufflepuff robes suspended from the lighting fixture over the stairwell. He looked resigned to being up there his face flushed with embarrassment. Albus had seen him a few times passing through the common room; he was a Hufflepuff sixth year student. There was a sign around his neck.

HUFFLEPUFF,

WELCOME BACK

TO LAST PLACE!

A voice broke through the silence of the milling students. "What is going on here?" Albus realized it was Orion Cody before he turned around. The man strolled up, it was in that moment that Albus realized that for all his reputation, Orion was not even as tall as some of the students. The power and authority he was projecting made his seem much larger though. He had his crystal headed cane in his hand, his bright blue eyes were shining with anger. "Oh, I see. Move aside, please."

The students gave him a wide berth as he raised his cane and the crystal glowed deep blue, he then gestured with his other hand at the suspended student, and the boy lowered gently to the ground.

"Are you alright son?" Orion asked as the young man bent down to catch his breath. "Y-yes sir."

"What are you doing?" Professor Bast said as she strolled up.

Orion smiled. "Somebody left one of your students hanging around, I just helped him down."

Her mouth was a thin line of disapproval as she bent down to her student. "Brett, are you okay?"

He nodded. She shooed the students in the direction of the stairs. "Go on, get into bed, we want you to be fresh for the first day." The students began descending the stairs, but Albus held back just a moment; he heard Professor Bast and Orion get into a discussion.

"I don't need your help."

"I wasn't helping you. By the way, you know I can find the ones who did this."

"You most certainly will not, I will deal with this situation. The last thing I need is to unleash you on this school."

"If that's what you want, Free, I'll leave it alone."

Albus glanced up as the man touched his forehead in a salute and made his way by. Professor Bast covered her eyes and sighed wearily as he departed.

"Hey, Albus, pay attention." Scorpius remarked pulling him toward the emptying stairs. Albus followed him on down the stone steps to what would be directly beneath the dining area.

They exited to a huge high-ceilinged kitchen. The walls were stone, nearly covered with hanging brass pots and pans with a large brick fireplace at one end. Four huge wooden tables were positioned exactly the same way as the tables above. Elves were hoping around and cleaning dishes, levitating them onto shelves high above with unerring accuracy. In their squeaky voices, they called a greeting to the children, inquiring if they wanted a snack to take down with them. Albus knew several of them by name, he especially waved at Gertie the sweet little girl elf who smuggled snacks and Butterbeer into Hufflepuff all last year.

Albus and Scorpius turned them down kindly and walked over to where students were entering a door behind a large still life painting of a bowl of fruit dominating one wall.

A short flight of stairs led down to a long broad corridor lit by torches. The round walls were of packed earth and it had a stone floor, the tunnel lined with casks, the timbers overhead were dark with age.

This entire basement wing had been a wine cellar during the earliest days of the castle.

They came to a large round oak wood door, already swung out, and they entered into the inviting light. Albus paused as he entered the common room.

It was good to be back in The Cellar.

The burrow-like room was two stories tall and the furniture, made from old round casks and upholstered in plush bright yellow and black. Deep couches and chairs situated around a simple oak-mantled fireplace stained a deep brown, almost black, same as the furniture. The firelight, giving a pleasant glow reflecting on the plaque affixed to the mantle in a place of honour bearing the likeness of Cedric Diggory, twinkling above the House Cup still in their possession from the year before. The dark wood flooring had large, elaborate throw rugs the colours of a bumblebee.

In the ceiling was an illusionary burrow hole that spiralled up to show the outside sky similar to the spells in the Great Hall ceiling, since there was no windows this far down, it had the effect of making the place seem even more comfortable and inviting and less claustrophobic. Brown earthen walls lit by torches and lined with canary yellow tapestries with crest of a black and yellow field showing the fierce Hufflepuff badger decorated the walls. There were perfectly round barrel top tunnels leading off to either side.

This place had always resonated with Albus on a deep level he could not explain.

Maybe it was all the food he'd consumed or the long day that was coming to a close but Albus felt tired and headed straight for bed. His bunkroom was through the round oak door in the middle of the three off of the common room to the left, he had no need to check the list to know he needed to take the next middle door of the three, then take the door on the right in the next of the two. He arrived in the circular room he had been assigned the previous year. It had an elaborate wrought-iron chandelier, now dark, and the floor was lined with five four posters with black and yellow bed-hangings.

Albus' familiar trunk was sitting at the foot of his bed.

The walls had enchanted torches in gold sconces recessed into the earthen walls between the paired beds that gave just enough light without disturbing the occupants. The lack of windows had the effect of making the darkness cave like, but the colours of the fabrics were extremely cheery.

Albus crossed to his familiar four poster to find he had a surprise visitor.

"Kublai, wrong bed old chap." He called out to the big ball of fur curled on his bedspread. Scorpius' pet Himalayan had grown into all that fluffy kitten fur over the summer, and was now a large well fed cat, but he proved to be as inscrutable as ever. He opened one eye to show in it's turquoise depths that he knew exactly where he was supposed to be, and daring Albus to move him.

"Don't bother. He's mad at me too." Scorpius remarked as he rummaged through his trunk.

Albus gave the invading animal a dubious look before asking. "Why, what did you do?"

Scorpius gave Albus a weary look. "Why are you assuming that it is something I've done? It could just mean that cat is mental."

Kublai opened his eyes just long enough to indicate to Albus. _You see what I have to put up with?_

Scorpius was talking more to himself than Albus when he remarked. "He nearly clawed Destiny, all she wanted to do was tie a teal ribbon around his neck, she said it would make him look cute."

Kublai did not deign to open his eyes for that one. He just silently bared his claws in his supposed sleep.

Albus sighed and got ready for bed, looked like he was not going to be alone tonight.

Albus glanced around the room to see Cormac and Gas chatting amicably, the way Gas was gestulating it was about the game he played with Orion Cody on the Express. The room's only other occupant came in a little late. Rick Cresswell had all his friends in Gryffindor, but he had developed a wary friendliness with his bunkmates late last year. The slight boy with dark hair worn long hair in a pony nodded as he crossed to his bed.

Albus made to close his curtains when Scorpius asked him. "Do you think Rose will come around, or should I just get used to the silence?" He turned to see Scorpius trying to look casual, but his usual cold aristocracy was wilting around the edges in trepidation.

Albus tried to be reassuring without bringing up his friend's poor behaviour as of late. "I'm sure you two will work it out without much bloodshed," Albus remarked with a grin. Scorpius rolled his eyes and responded wryly, "Emphasis being on bloodshed."

"Good night Albus...Kublai," Scorpius stated as he pulled his bed clothes shut."

Albus nodded, and then pulled his bedclothes too. He attempted to get under the covers without disturbing the cat. He finally settled in, he reached down carefully to give Kublai's ears a friendly scratch. "Good night Kub." He felt the answer purr through his hand.

Before he drifted off, the image of that boy suspended by an unknown hand over the stair well that led to Hufflepuff's common room came to his mind. That act was clearly calculated to discourage this House, and to sew a sense of powerlessness. Albus idly wandered if that prank was the first salvo in a war to keep Hufflepuff from rising above the position it had occupied for decades. If so, would Hufflepuff stand idly by and let it be dictated to, or would they fight the current.

A better question is, did his House even know they could fight? Or would someone have to show them how, and set an example for them to follow?

Before the oblivion of sleep took him, one last thought stuck into Albus' consciousness.

_Dear Merlin, I hope it's not me!_

* * *

**Thought of the Day:** I will elaborate later, but in case you noticed, Orion is using a different form of magical manipulation. It is called, staff magic. It will be better explained later,but since there were so many brilliant ideas about the differences of magic in America and England, I'll put this to you. What do you foresee as the difference between staff magic and wand magic...drawbacks?...advantages? There are no wrong answers, who knows, you might influence the lexicon I have already written concerning this. Thanks for being patient, and as always, for reading!

_Bart_


	7. Chapter 7 First Day Blues

I just wanted to thank JK for her world, and her continued generosity with it! These are her toys! I own any OC's that appear, they're MINE ALL MINE! BWahahahaaah! Sorry little touch of megalomania there. So enjoy my take on the continuing saga of the epilogue to DH.

**Chapter Notes:** Here lately I have been dipping in another fandom, Sherlock Holmes. I have so far written two stories in a series over there which I am very proud of and I plan three more five chapter installments in the series. This is a group of writers that are simply humbling to be around and being a part of that community has really raised my game. This chapter I believe has been helped by my activities over there. However, splitting time has not helped my speed any so I apologize for the delay. I have been working with yet another beta, and they have had this chapter since Friday with no word so I decided to go ahead and post it utilizing my own limited grammar skill. So for those of you who get distracted by such things I apologize up front.

This is Albus' first day of his second year, the first day the year before was pretty traumatic, I think this one might actually leave scars LOL!

**CAUTION:** For those who are sensitive there is an occurrence at the end of this chapter that might be considered graphic by some.

**Please Read and Review...I'm lonely. **

Thanks!

Bart

* * *

**Albus Potter and the Black Badger Society**

**Chapter7: First Day Blues**

_The windblown Quidditch Stadium was full but the crowd was strangely silent._

_Albus saw a lone figure flying up above chasing a Snitch frantically. Albus could not make out whom the Seeker was. Suddenly he swooped down after the little elusive golden ball and Albus could see it was Scorpius._

_Scorpius' hair was blowing in the wind back from his face, but the usual look of joy the boy found in flying was missing, replaced by tension and pressure of trying to capture his rapid little target.  
_

_Albus was about to call out to Scorpius when he glanced at the grandstands. He suddenly realized that they were filled with copies of the same man, a glowering, clearly not impressed...  
_

_Draco Malfoy._

-

Albus fell out of his bed pushed by an unseen hand. He hit the floor tangled in his bed coverings. He heard a familiar voice chuckle.

"Is wee baby Potty sleeping sound? Peeves hopes he has not woke the little chap up."

Albus disentangled himself angrily. The little man with wicked dark eyes and a wide mouth wearing an outlandish outfit floated in the air giggling at his own prank.

Albus felt an unpleasant smile as he saw the other sleepers in his room awaken. There was no need to stay silent now. "Mister Filch! He's in Hufflepuff Second Year boys bunk room!" he bellowed with a wicked grin to match Peeves.

Peeves good mood faded instantly. "Drat! I never have any fun!"

Sure enough, through the wall came a ghost holding a lantern and using a cane, but floating along at a good clip nonetheless. "There you are, Peeves, you'll not escape me this time!" he growled. Dour looking, with large jowls, the apparition carried a ghostly cat under his arm staring at Albus with disdainful lamp-lit eyes. Peeves took off through the wall blowing raspberries as Filch gave chase.

Albus picked himself up off the floor,. "Welcome back to Hogwarts," He murmured as he yawned.

He wondered at his dream, the environment seemed so real like the one with Uncle Charlie the year before, and the one where he visited Cormac's mum, but why was Draco Malfoy in it?

He glanced up at Scorpius and saw his friend holding his head looking even paler than usual. "Albus you would not believe the nightmare I just had. I might owe Peeves thanks for waking me up!"

_Maybe it wasn't my dream after all_, Albus thought grimly.

A quick check of his watch on the nightstand let Albus know that it was nearly time for breakfast anyway, so they all started their day.

-

The Great Hall was back to being what it really was, an exceptionally large and elaborate dining room. The spelled ceiling was showing a cloudy morning but there was enough blue to promise sun later. The older Students milled about finding acquaintances from the year before while the first years huddled in nervous little clusters, wide-eyed and nearly overwhelmed by their first day of Hogwarts schooling.

Albus was only mildly surprised to see that Rose was already at breakfast, but was sitting with her cousins at the Gryffindor table being beastly to all who dared come near.

Scorpius saw her and his forehead wrinkled in confusion, but since Albus was not making a note, he let it pass as well. They took a seat and began to dig in,; Scorpius had some scramble and mash, Albus felt like some potato cakes, which he was slathering with ketchup.

The owls arrived with packages from home. Albus heard Celestina's loud screech in the swirling melee of feathers. Scorpius received a huge care package, one that the new, fit owl was able to carry effortlessly. The year before his mail arrived frequently by an elderly owl that had to be nursed back to health after every trip. This one was large and muscular with brown feathers and a white breast; he nibbled his toast corner with dignity and swooped off. Scorpius opened the package and found a brand new quill set, and several packages of sweets with foreign language labels, and a long ramble of encouragement from home. "Sure beats Howlers," Scorpius quipped.

Albus did not see Nox's broad wingspan, or Roarke's arrogant white plumage, so he turned back to breakfast finding his appetite was still curbed by last night's culinary crimes.

"Albus, Scorpius, there you are," said." Said Diane Delaney as she spied them and strolled up. "Are you two ready for Quidditch?" she demanded, showing her priorities had not changed with the prefect badge.

"My Dad acquired me a SkyBolt," Scorpius said proudly. Diana grinned so wide Albus was sure she sprained a jaw muscle. "Splendid! It's a good thing, since every starting Seeker will have one this year."

Scorpius looked crestfallen,. "Oh, I guess it won't be as much the advantage as I thought."

Diana scoffed,. "You are still Scorpius'"Mad Man" Malfoy, that's all the advantage we'll need."

Scorpius tried to look cool about it, but Albus saw him crack a little smile when Diana focused on him.

"How about you, Albus, is the cannon arm ready to fire?" In way of response, Albus flexed his muscle. She snorted, "It must be in the ligaments." Scorpius sprayed juice as he laughed, Summer Sutherland across the table glared, but she had learned from her dousing with sprayed drink twice the year before. She had an indelible charm on her robes this year. Albus idly wondered why she insisted on sitting across from them, as he gave Diana the glower she deserved.

Diana suddenly glanced around, and sat down leaning in,. "There are some disturbing developments that you should be aware of this year. Firstly, the worst thing possible has happened, Slytherin got wise and stopped being all pure-blood centric, be sure to thank your cousin Vicky for me won't you?"

Albus recalled Victoire and her tirade against the Slytherin establishment the year before in defence of Paige Hawkins. Their behaviour towards that girl, the best player on their team who happened to be a half-blood, was deplorable. "How is this, the worst thing possible?" Albus inquired.

Diana rolled her eyes,. "I did not mean the worst thing for them as a House, I mean the worst thing for us as a Quidditch team!"

Scorpius looked as confused as Albus felt. "I'm not following."

Diana looked positively grave. "Paige Hawkins was made the Quidditch team captain; she is choosing the best team Slytherin can field, not based on blood status."

Albus was beginning to get an inkling of what was so dire. "Do they have good talent to pull from?"

Diana nodded. "We've always said if you want to beat Slytherin make sure you keep their starters on the field. If it had not been for the Sisters going Belarusian on the starting Chasers two years ago, Paige would have never seen playing time last year. Now those reserves that should have played but got passed over by McNasty because they were not purebloods -or female, which he was biased against as well- are getting their chance. Now that Paige has all three Chasers female, they are calling themselves the Furies, along with the typical thug Slytherin Beater line, and the fact whomever they get for Seeker will be the best at hand, all means that we are deep trouble."

Scorpius leaned in getting into the subterfuge. "You said disturbing developments plural? I've only counted one so far."

She glanced around, her eyes going grave as she eyed someone in the direction of the Slytherin table. They turned to look. Standing in a group of typical Slytherin evolutionary throwbacks was a small but muscular boy with spiky hair and a perpetual sneer; it was Leon Sloan, the starting Slytherin Seeker from the year before and notorious illegal robe grabber.

He was sporting the badge of the Head Boy.

Scorpius went pale. "You don't think he holds a grudge for that little stunt I pulled last year do you?

Albus remembered how Scorpius had used Sloan's illegal hand in his robes to pull the other boy off his broom as he made a daring mid-air Snitch grab and slide down a ring pole the first game they played the year before. Sloan seemed to feel the eyes on him and he looked right at Scorpius, his smile exceedingly unpleasant.

"I think that's a yes," Albus remarked.

He turned to Diana. "Surely the Head Girl will have something to say about his bias and favouritism."

Diana shook her head,. "She's going to be too busy with her own agenda." She pointed to the Ravenclaws. Albus and Scorpius groaned when they saw the Head Girl badge on the chest of a serious brunette with her hair pulled brutally back into a bun, she had gray drill bit eyes that dissected the room. "Elanor Ferraro?" Albus remarked, "But she's obsessed with Ravenclaw winning the Quidditch cup at all costs! There's no way she'll be impartial."

Scorpius sighed,. "I seem to recall she wanted to run up the score on Hufflepuff last year."

Diana glared. "Yeah, she and I are not friends."

Albus studied his suddenly unappetizing potato cakes. "Not good."

-

The first class of the day was Herbology. Albus did not know anyone who disliked the class, if they were truthful. Uncle Neville was one of the most gifted and passionate teachers Albus knew at Hogwarts, and that translated to a loose and fascinating atmosphere in which to learn.

He and Scorpius arrived at the interior entrance to the Arboretum, same time as the Slytherins, who did the usual sneering and grumbling as they pulled on the required gloves and protective goggles.

With a hiss of pressurized air, they all entered the Arboretum. Even, even though they had seen it all the year before, they still stopped and stared. The sheer mass of the place was not the only thing that was stunning; the variety of plant life was jaw dropping.

Four stories of walkways and open air greeted their eyes. The green, charmed, outer glass did not tint or take away from the colours within, but somehow enhanced them.

They viewed different eco systems just from their vantage point on the first level. Over to the left were a group of tropical plants being rained on by small contained storm clouds, while just across the path there was some desert flowers and exotic plants growing out of sun blasted rock and sand, a small globe of light hovering over head, obviously giving off heat, but the temperature within the arboretum remained comfortable.

On the way to a glass enclosure on the first floor, which contained a classroom with tables complete with their own sinks, they walked past winter landscapes and tundra with crystalline glass looking plants. When, they passed what appeared to be a rocky mountainside with plants growing out of the side, there was a gentle wind blowing throughout the place. It had a white brick path that wound all through the vistas, and older students meandered taking care of the plants while dictating their results to _Quick Quotes Quills._

They walked in and took their usual seats from the year before, all except Rose, who suddenly decided to sit with Olivia Abbot, a little pink-faced, dark-haired girl with blue eyes and pigtails; the very image of Neville's wife, Hannah, except Hannah was blonde. Olivia was the daughter of Hannah Longbottom's first cousin and was a sweet girl who tended to be agreeable to everything Rose said, which normally annoyed Rose to no end. Albus shot her a look; she nodded toward Scorpius, and then crossed her arms. The message was clear.

_Scorpius or me, make a choice._

Albus turned back to the front and sighed thinking to himself, _This__ is going to be such a long year._ His stomach let him know his potato cakes were not settling very well.

His dilemma, solved by Uncle Neville coming through the door. Professor Longbottom had a bandage on his hand and a patch on his cheek. "Sorry I'm late, ladies and gentlemen, oh, and Slytherins." The Slytherins nodded appreciating the distinction. "I got into a tangle with this little lady a few stories up, she was in a feisty mood this morning, and I need to get some students for detention so I can get her pruned, unless there are volunteers for extra credit?"

Albus knew he was referring to the scariest bit of plant life ever created, in his opinion, the treacherous Umbridge Weed, which Uncle Neville created for Azkaban security purposes. Albus glanced around the room to see who knew to what Professor Longbottom was referring to. He saw some faces go pale, Kian and his two henchmen did not look interested in a reprise of the detention they had endured with Rose, Scorpius, and he just before Christmas. There were at least four more that shifted uncomfortably at the thought.

"Oh well, no matter. Today we are studying how to prune _Abyssinian shrivelfigs_. Who can tell me the dangers?"

Rose's hand shot up, so did Cormac, who proved to be the best Herbology student the year before. "Besides my two favourite students, that is," Neville said with a chuckle. He checked his role for a minute.

"Someone I have not heard from, let me see, let's go Slytherin, Maya Goyle?" The girl in question was tall and large boned, dark haired and looked older than eleven, her face had a slack look to it with no expression. Scorpius leaned over, "Don't let her looks fool you." His tone had a note of warning.

As if to confirm his statement as fact, she spoke, "An _Abyssinian shrivelfig_ is used in shrinking potions, and has a reverse aging component, so obviously you'd have to guard against the juice affecting your clothing, and it is not wise to get it on your skin," she remarked in a cultured, bored voice. The look she shot Professor Longbottom was not a friendly one.

"Five points to Slytherin for a great synopsis, Maya,"." Professor Longbottom called happily. She just smirked and turned to Natasha Skoll, the little blond girl with the wicked smile and quick giggle to which she often appeared joined at the hip.

"So if you know what is good for you, do not get juice on your clothing. We had a student drop it on his pants last year, and suddenly we had a new soprano for the Hogwarts Singing Warlocks Octet." All of the boys shifted uncomfortably while Uncle Neville chuckled at his joke,. "So with no further quibbling, let's go."

He swept out into the Arboretum. The students collected their pruning shears and followed.

The next hour they spent on the second level east wing bent down with magnifiers trying to clip tiny little trees. Uncle Neville informed them that as soon as all of the figs were picked or fell off, the plants returned to normal size until next time they bore fruit. The fruit itself grew to a normal size as soon as it was not longer on the tree, but that did not help the aching back and tired eyes.

"Well that's all the fun we have for the day, be sure to read the next chapter on _Dragon Lava Root_ maintenance, and be sure to cover up with your dragon hide aprons for next class. Oh, don't worry about eyebrows, they do eventually grow back," he called cheerfully, ignoring all of the looks of terror he was receiving from the vainer students.

As they filed by, Uncle Neville touched Albus' arm, indicating for him to stay behind. "I know you have Potions next, and you don't want to be late to one of Professor Flint's classes, trust me, but what is going on with Rose and Scorpius?"

Albus watched as Scorpius trudged out with Cormac and Gaspar, Rose was chatting loudly with Olivia Abbot and Gertrude Statham as they departed, the other two girls glancing at each other wondering why the sudden interest.

Albus shrugged, but his stomach gave a lurch, . "They're both being mental at the moment."

Uncle Neville chuckled. "I wouldn't let worry eat a hole in your stomach, Albus, you guys have a gravity, anyone can see it, they might pull away for a bit, but they will find their way back. I've seen this three-way chemistry once before, and that worked out alright." He winked and nudged Albus down the ramp to the airlock door.

Scorpius was waiting as he cleared the enclosure,. "What did Professor Longbottom want?"

Albus shrugged and remarked, "Just to meddle a little bit, nothing worth sharing."

Scorpius nodded, not pressing him to elaborate; they headed down the stairway toward the dungeons.

They arrived at the Potions classroom a little late but Flint had not swept in just yet. With no windows, it was not as dark and dank as Albus had first anticipated the year before; however it was very creepy with dead specimens and potion ingredients contained in bright lit jars stored in shelved alcoves in the walls. They were both surprised to see Rose seated in her normal spot. "Don't get used to it," she grumbled. Scorpius sat down disinterested, "I hadn't planned on it." "Good," she remarked to get in the last word. "Fine," he shot back slyly with a smile, to her glaring disdain.

The trio had their own chemistry when it came to potions, with Albus being the potion cook, Rose calling out the directions, and Scorpius finding and handing the ingredients, they had made it through the first year with top marks. Mac and Gas had their share of disasters the year before, their partner was a Ravenclaw with spelled blue hair to match her eyes named Azure Gorman, who had marked all of their failures down to her pairing with boys. She sat with them once again, looking disgruntled. There in the back, like a perpetual wraith, was Liam Donovan. He seemed bored and apathetic, but his eyes were always quick to glance at a noise.

With his usual precision, Professor Flint swept through the door, locking it with his wand ominously, as if to prevent escape, and sat his satchel down. He did his normal scan of the class, his dark eyes dissecting and cold.

"Learning is a delicate alchemy," he stated ominously, "you absorb information from a state of discomfort. Comfortable individuals do not learn, they do not strive or reach. To be in a place of your choosing, doing only and exactly what you desire, is to be complacent and lazy. Therefore, I am going to stir the cauldron this year. You will be assigned your new partners."

There was a buzz of dissent, immediately cut off when Flint came around the front of his desk and loomed over them. His obsidian eyes glittering, his shaven skull gleaming in the overhead glow globes, he suddenly seemed much bigger and threatening. "This is my potions classroom. I am the only professor teaching this subject at Hogwarts, to graduate; I am the only door through which to pass. Am I making myself clear?" There was a chorus of nods.

Albus glanced over, Rose was shredding a big piece of parchment nervously, her face flushed and Scorpius was in cold aristocratic shut down mode, which he only did when he was uncertain.

Professor Flint glanced over the assemblage, "With all that being said, let's get your reassignments so we can get on with the curriculum."

"Not Liam, not Liam, please dear Merlin not Liam..." Albus began chanting under his breath.

"Albus Potter, Azure Gorman, and..."

"Not Liam, please not Liam..."

"Liam Donovan."

"Arghhhh!"

Next thing Albus knew, he was at the table with a glowering blue-haired boy hater, and the creepiest kid in class.

Rose wound up with Gaspar and Rachel Vane, who was already flipping her long black hair and batting her eyes at Gaspar guaranteeing that the little round boy would probably be doing most of her work as well as his own. Rose glowered showing this was not tolerable.

Scorpius was over with two Ravenclaws, one was a thick-glasses wearing arrogant jerk by the name of Rhys Grego, and the other was one of the two French girls in class. Her name was Margo Duval, she had dark red hair that had undulating different shade highlights resembling flame, with full pouting lips and eyes that looked violet but might be a glamour spell. (Honestly, who has violet eyes?) She showed that she already had her eye on Scorpius, which he was doing nothing to discourage her attention. Rose was glowering at that as well.

_Poti__ons__...__not going to be a happy __class__ this year_!

"Now that we are settled, turn in your books to chapter eleven, memory potions. We will begin with the _Lethe_ _Draught__,_and the _Mnemosyne Extract _antidote_."_

Albus turned in his _Pra__c__tical Potions_ book to the chapter mentioned. He resignedly wondered if he could brew himself some _Lethe_ to forget this awful class.

Liam behaved himself for the duration of the class but Azure glared at Albus anytime he offered to help or point something out, showing in Albus' opinion why her partnership with Mac and Gas had not been successful. In the end, when the phials were taken to the front, his group botched the assignment, somehow turning a concoction that was supposed to end up light blue, into a sick yellow bubbling mass. Flint took one look at the result and failed them.

Albus was furious.

The class began their escape, reacquainting themselves with their friends as soon as they cleared the door, but Albus hung back.

Flint was erasing the board but when he turned and saw Albus standing there, he did not seem surprised.

"You want me to fail, don't you?" Albus demanded. He was so angry he was trembling, he did not care that he was looking at detention.

Flint however had the nerve to smile,. "There were only two students in the entire class that could take you out of your comfort zone, Albus, only two that can push you to become all you have the potential to be, that is why I placed you with them. If you desire to remain successful in this class, I suggest you find a way to collaborate. I will give you the grade that is deserved, dependant on the completion of the assignments." He began to unpack a different book from his satchel. "You need to leave and allow me to prepare for the next class, unless you actually want to sort Flobber Worms for me this Friday night in detention."

Albus stomped off without another word.

"He's pure evil," He hissed as he caught up to Rose and Scorpius who had forgotten their enmity in light of the new development.

"I am in total agreement," Rose declared.

"I don't know, Margo's alright, Rhys needs a personality transplant though," Scorpius remarked.

"Oh I bet you like Margo's die job, and eye colour spells alright,"." Rose needled, twiddling the locks of her hair and batting her eyes sweetly.

Scorpius was about to rise to the bait but Albus exploded. "Will you two stop fighting for five Merlin forsaken minutes?!" He roared. He shot them both a glare and trudged away in the silence that followed.

"What's up with him?" Rose inquired before Albus got entirely out of earshot. "He's gone mental, I suppose," replied Scorpius.

Albus resisted the impulse to head down to The Cellar and call it a day, but only just. The next class was Defence Against the Dark Arts and he had been looking forward to this for a long time.

The year before, Albus arrived at Hogwarts wanting to learn some defensive spells, and maybe some offensive, to defend himself against his brother and cousins. What he received was dry theory, no practical application and flawed technique at the hands of what turned out to be a dark wizard who was deliberately being a bad teacher. Now the instructor was someone who Albus already respected, and he was eager to see what was in store. No amount of Rose/Scorpius drama, or Professor Flint unreasonable behaviour was going to ruin that.

He arrived at the new Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom ahead of Rose and Scorpius, both of whom came in and gingerly sat beside Albus, watching him for any potential outbursts. They should not have been concerned. Albus was so excited and distracted, they could have been tap dancing on the back of a flouncy pink taffeta clad centaur, shooting swirly bright spells into the air from their nostrils and Albus would not have noticed at that point.

The class moved to was now in one of the lower turrets in the castle.

The room was circular, with a second story in a circular ring of platforms;, there was a staircase leading up. The windows were many, promising drafts during the winter but a spectacular view. There was a space for desks where they were seated, which were situated in a semi-circle around a mobile chalk board, but also a large open area which had rings big enough to fit two persons to stand five paces apart. Albus felt a thrill. "Oh yes, there will be practical application this year!" he murmured to himself.

Orion made his way down the stairs; his cane was in his heavy leather gloved hand. He was dressed in robes, but even with the same attire as the other professors; he did not look like a teacher.

It may have been the way he walked, or the set of his shoulders, or the way his eyes paused on each student sizing them up. There was no way to predict what was about to occur.

He quickly called the roll. "Since I was not here last year, I don't know any faces," he remarked.

Albus noticed that he did not even look at Albus, Gas, or Rose; or acknowledge any prior relationship. He wondered why that was. Scorpius leaned over, "What language is that? It almost sounds like English, but he's slurring it all over the place." Albus grinned.

Orion pulled a stool out from behind the chalkboard, and sat down. "We have time for three questions, fire away, and make them good."

Slytherins normally did not participate, acting as if it was beneath them but, surprisingly, one of them raised their hand. It was a dark skinned boy seated in the back. He was actually tall, but he normally slumped so much he seemed normal height. He had slightly bushy black hair combed back into a flame shape and a slender face with thick eyebrows and quick dark eyes, furtive and unsettling.

"Brian Zabini," Orion stated, not even rechecking the role.

Brian cleared his throat. "I was wondering where your wand is? Is the cane a fashion statement or functional?"

Orion smiled, but it was not entirely friendly. "The perfect question to ask, if you are assessing a threat Mister Zabini," he said in a clipped tone. Brian looked nonplussed that his question was interpreted that way. Orion laughed. "Relax kid, I'm here to train you, not sort you out."

He raised his cane with its crystalline head into the light. "This, class, is a staff. It is a magical implement much as a wand, but it is one you have to earn, not purchase.". He touched the wood. "Wood from the lands of your father, from whose roots you sprang," he intonated, as if repeating ceremonial words. He touched the crystalline stone head of the cane, "A mineral from a vein in the heart of your mother's lands, for it is she that carried you." He got a distant look to his eye, "We learned this magic from the people of the earth, wind, and sky, it is as old as any European tradition, and who knows it could be older still. Next question?"

Scorpius' hand rose quickly. "Scorpius Malfoy, ask your question," Orion commented eyes glittering unsettlingly.

"What do you mean, you have to earn it?"

Orion smiled. "Oh yes, you are concerned with personal achievement, rather than what is given you." Scorpius shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

"There is a ceremony, oh not every student chooses this route, there is traditional European magic in America, a lot of Yanks do carry wands, but there are some that tread a different path. At For those that choose it, at age eleven, there is a quest involved. You are sent out into a tribal lands to find the components of your staff. You are given just the clothes on your back and the magic within. If you return having located and retrieved the components, then you've earned a staff. Next question?"

"Iris Ivy," he called out. There was some murmuring over that, no one could ever recall Iris ever participating in any class out right, but there she was, her hand held halfway up her face red as a gurdy root. "I noticed that you have a falconer's glove, and there is a perch up near the top of the turret that looks like the ones in the owlery," she said with a squeak.

"Animal lover, right?" Orion asked, his voice warm and friendly. Her cheeks got even redder but she nodded.

Orion closed his eyes; he seemed to be concentrating as Albus had seen him do during that ride in the Hogwarts Express. He opened those bright light blue eyes and held his gloved hand aloft.

Through an open window further up came one of the largest birds Albus had ever seen. It swooped down and alighted on his hand with intimidating long talons. It had sleek russet plumage with white tail feathers and its head was snowy as well. It gave the class an imperious dismissive glance with its bright yellow eyes. "Class, I'd like you to meet my friend, Gwaihir, the Wind Lord," Cody remarked. There was something so majestic about the bird, that no one in the class dare say anything. Cody smiled. He, he spoke to the bird in low tones and, it took off. With with a few flaps of its long wings, it caught an updraft and soared back up into the aviary above.

"I don't suggest anyone attempt to pet him, he's here at my request, he's not a pet," Cody explained as he moved the stool back behind the chalkboard.

He brought out a covered cage on a pedestal. It was shaking and making all sorts of evil growling noises. "Now let's get to the evaluation portion of our class. Can anyone tell me, what are the most basic impulses common to any sentient form of life? Kian Kerry?"

Kian glanced at his two cronies, "No idea professor, please enlighten us, preferably in English this time."

Cameron and Conner sniggered dutifully.

Orion laughed as well. "Very well, it's fight or flight. This cage has a sticking charm on it that has the duration of twenty seconds, starting now, good luck."

With that said, he removed the cloth that covered the cage, and walked out the door of the classroom, closing and locking it behind him with a portentous click.

In the cage, pale green, slavering fangs with long fragile looking fingers ending in claws, its bright yellow eyes eager in anticipation, was what looked like a little demon complete with sharp little horns.

"It's a Grindylow!" Rose yelped.

The students panicked. Albus immediately felt like throwing up. Rose and Scorpius were both looking at him with wands out, as were Gas and Mac, waiting for him to save the day as he had the year before.

His mind was a blank.

They forgot, the year before he dosed on calming draught right before rogue Bludgers attacked them during their flying lesson.

He certainly did not feel calm now.

"What do we do, Albus?" Rose pleaded, "Grindylows are aggressive, and it's going to attack as soon as it can."

To prove her point the little demon rattled the door to the cage ferociously.

They all looked at him with accusing eyes at least that was what it felt like to Albus. "Why does it have to be me?" Albus snarled.

Suddenly he heard the cage door open.

Albus did not even remember drawing his wand, but he spun and shouted, "_Reducto_!"

There were cries of surprise and shock and outright terror, and then there was a rain of Grindylow pieces;, and sounds of retching.

Orion reappeared beside the door, on the inside instead of the out. "I would have reasserted the sticking charm, or even better jammed the door physically, but there is no debating your effectiveness," he remarked with a clinical detachment.

Albus fell to his knees staring at the scorched spot were the Grindylow had been, ignoring the pieces that fell on his robes.

"What have I done?"

* * *

**Thought of the Day:** Harry Potter's reflexive spell was a disarming spell, Albus' reflexive impulsive spell is an explosive curse. Hmmmmm...

Feel free to discuss.


	8. Chapter 8 Escalation

I just wanted to thank JK for her world, and her continued generosity with it! These are her toys! I own any OC's that appear, they're MINE ALL MINE! BWahahahaaah! Sorry little touch of megalomania there. So enjoy my take on the continuing saga of the epilogue to DH.

**Chapter Notes:** This chapter was supposed to be much longer, and I know you have been waiting a couple of weeks for an update, so I decided that this was a good enough length and it had a sufficient enough arch. Some of my best chapters the last book were short so I'll let this one stand on its own.

**JK** **Rowling** was asked which was her hardest book to write she said her second, Chamber of Secrets. She was nearly crushed by the expectations and it nearly smothered the book. Well I thought I knew what she was talking about but alas, I did not. Now I do LOL!

Here we are on the eight chapter in the seventh month. Thing is I am attempting a sequel less than a year after the last one, with more of a central plot arch, character development and detail than the last. I am not trying to sound whiny, just to ask for your patience.

So without further complaint and martyrdom here is chapter eight.

Again...not JK...if I were you would be waiting two and a half years for this book and liking it LOL!

**R&R if you would be so kind. **

* * *

**Albus Potter and the Black Badger Society**

**Chapter8: Escalation**

There was pandemonium in the room as students who were not completely appalled and in shock loudly complained about Professor Cody's mad teaching methods, and about how dangerous Albus was.

Kian Kerry was especially vocal."My father will hear of this! Why Shacklebolt chose an American imbecile for this position is proof the man needs replacing.

Albus noticed that Orion was not even looking at the room; his eyes were on Albus and the group around him.

He slammed the end of his staff on to the ground and there was a bright flash of light. Albus blinked and he realized everyone else in the room was frozen were they were. Cody casually strolled around the room his staff crystal lit up as he held a hand out to the students scourgifying pieces of Grindylow off clothing and the walls.

"You really blasted that little sucker, Albus," Cody remarked.

"Wha-what's wrong with everybody?" Albus asked. Rose, Scorpius, Gas and Mac, frozen as well; they looked at him still as statues with a mixture of concern and surprise.

"Oh they will be alright, Albus, it's an old American Obliviator trick. It's called a flash spell, it freezes everyone in place while some wizards do what needs to be done. It's harmless."

"Why am I not frozen?" Albus asked, his voice held a quaver of fear.

Orion paused in his work. "I unfroze you for a chat. If you stay after class, or get pointed out by me in any shape then it will make your situation worse. There are eyes that need not know that you happen to be something very special, talking to me in a capacity other than teacher and student will be like sending a flare up."

Orion crossed to Albus. "Why did you get angry?"

Albus was trying to get his brain around what Orion said last. "I beg your pardon?"

Orions bright blue eyes were earnest and interested. "Why did you get angry, you had four people in the middle of a crisis willing to do whatever you required, and you got angry about it?"

Albus still felt the anger; it was simmering under the surface like a snake in its den. "I don't know, I guess it made me feel singled out, I don't want to be."

Orion smiled. "Albus, having others believe in you, and placing their trust in you is sacred. It is a privilege."

"Maybe, I don't want it," Albus snapped.

Orion went back to his work. "Whether or not you want it, you've got it Albus. You can resent it, get angry and eventually make sure that people regret ever knowing you, or you can accept it, embrace it and do something productive."

Albus thought about it as the man moved around the room, he was removing the scorch mark on the floor tiles when Albus spoke again. "What happens if I ignore it altogether, and act like I'm just like anyone else?"

Orion met his gaze; there was something unfathomable in his eyes. "Checkmate."

He slammed the end of his staff down in another flash the bedlam was back. Suddenly everyone was confused. "What happened?" Rose demanded.

Orion shrugged. "You were never in any danger, students, it was a simple illusion. I needed to evaluate where you are in your development before we proceed."

There was a tone in Orion's voice that was not there before; Albus found himself agreeing with his words before he realized it must be some sort of coercion.

The students calmed down, they all had a good-natured chuckle about it. Orion glanced at Albus and gave him a sly wink.

"Very well, class, we need to talk about textbooks. Who has read the textbook for this class?"

Rose's hand went up eagerly as is several others. Orion winced. "Oh no, I am sorry about that, "I'll be sure you get extra credit for it, please walk up here and place them in this barrel."

He summoned a large metal barrel from the side.

One by one, the students walked up and placed their copies of _Reasons to Run_ by I.B. Fraidy into the container.

As soon as the last one, which was a glowering Rose, dropped hers in Orion pulled out some long, stripped branches from a tree, he produced a package of little white blobs. "Who has never had marshmallows?" There were a few hands raised, he placed the little white blobs on the end of branches and levitated them to students. "I will show you the proper way to toast a marshmallow. However, to do so we will need a fire."

His staff crystal flared up blue and he pointed to the canister, suddenly the books burst into flames. "This is all those books were good for," Orion remarked, "write to the ministry for reimbursement. Now let's roast some marshmallows!"

"Do you have graham crackers and chocolate, we could make Smores!" remarked the Hufflepuff girl Gertrude Statham. The little bubbly girl was like that, always eager to make the best.

"Good idea, Gertrude," Orion remarked, producing the other items as if waiting for someone to suggest.

-

They left at the end of class buzzing from sugar, scourgifying chocolate sauce off their fingers and robes. They had a laugh at Gas who had somehow managed to get marshmallow in his hair.

Albus realized that no one was talking about the Grindylow incident or him being too powerful. He also realized that Orion was right about the friends around him. He glanced at his little group.

Rose was intelligent, and she always had the right information at the right time. Scorpius was calm and cool, never rattled even when he was staring down that charging Golem last year. Cormac was stronger than probably any other student but he was one of the smallest in the class, and he was loyal to Albus without question. Gas was Gas, and he had proven to be one of the best wand wizards in the class, possibly the best.

Orion was right it was a priviledge.

That moment of unity was broken when someone called for Scorpius across the Great Hall as they were passing through for lunch.

The group that he had befriended at his party and the Hogwarts Express were waving him over. He shot Albus and Rose a sheepish grin and crossed to join them.

Cormac, who had yet to really see the change in Scorpius remarked, "That was a bit rude?"

Gas glanced at Rose; he tugged on Cormac's sleeve indicating that they needed to be somewhere else for this next bit.

Albus looked at his cousin, saw the murder clear there and attempted to edge away himself but she grabbed his robe sleeve.

_Yipe!_

"Where do you think you are going, Albus?" she hissed.

He smiled wanly. "Oh I just remembered I forgot something in The Cellar."

"We'll get it together," she remarked through her teeth.

They had started for the stairs when he realized there was a cat making his way across the vast Entrance Hall.

"That's Kublai!" Albus remarked, "How did he get out?"

The cat heard his voice and made his way over.

"He's covered in blood, Albus," Rose squeaked when he got closer.

Albus ran over and bent down. Kublai did not seem hurt and he purred when Albus stroked his matted fur. "I'll run him to the Hospital Wing, you go get Scorpius," Albus barked. Rose did not argue but headed back in the direction of the Great Hall.

Albus gently picked Kublai up, hoping the little Mongol would not take offense; he knew the cat was temperamental. To Albus' relief, Kublai purred and let himself be carried up the stairs.

Madam Pomfrey, scolded him a bit when he came in, he had blood all over his robes. She realized it was the cat. "I'm not much of an animal Healer Potter; you might have taken him to Hagrid instead."

She indicated for Albus to place him on a counter and then, with concern in her matronly eyes, carefully began the process of cleaning the cat. "Now, behave you, I am not making a request!" She admonished when Kublai glared and bared some claws. The battle of wills ended quickly as Kublai retracted and behaved.

Scorpius and Rose came in, the boy was even paler than usual. "Is...is he alright, Albus," he demanded.

"Still finding out," Albus informed. Rose looked just as anxious as Scorpius, Albus could not help but hide a small smile.

Madam Pomfrey finished with the administration of cleaning solution. Then she began to check for injuries, Kublai did not look happy but he tolerated it. Scorpius scratched his ears to keep him calm.

"Well I have to say there is not a scratch on him," stated Madam Pompfrey, "I cannot say the same for his possible would be catnappers, however." She had a twinkle in her eye as she nodded in the direction of a couple of beds farther down.

They all looked and Albus repressed chuckle.

In beds, side by side, was Jakob Ackerman, and Oliver Huer, starting Chasers for the Slytherin Quidditch team from the year before, they had obviously found other activities to occupy their time. Albus had a hunch they were now Leon Sloan's henchmen. He barely recognized them from the bandages that nearly covered from head to toe. They eyed Kublai with trepidation.

Scorpius did not bother hiding his laugh, and Rose was nearly in tears already.

Madam Pomfrey glowered and quietly pointed them to the door.

They left, Scorpius hugging his cat.

-

"I think I need to find some Salmon for this bloke here," Scorpius informed as he rubbed under Kublai's chin on one of the furball's sweet spots. Rose gave him an ear scratch as well. The cat was luxuriating in the attention.

Their good mood soured a bit when they got down to the kitchen and saw a group of students huddled around the Hufflepuff entrance painting, staring at it in frustration.

Lunker, the tall dour elf that rarely had anything cheerful to say was standing at a cutting board nearby. "What's going on?" Albus asked.

Lunker rolled his eyes. "Oh the painting is stuck, young master, they've been out here for hours, I imagine they'll have to stay here the rest of the year, I doubt they will get it open."

Diana Delaney was standing in front of the painting furious. "I know Sloan is behind this, I just know it!" she grumbled.

She reached out, tickled an orange, scatched the banana, and tapped the pear in the still life twice. Still it did not open.

"That is the combination," she stated.

There were some muffled bangs on the backside of the frame.

"I hear you. Stop banging you are not helping," Diana bellowed. The banging stopped. "I guess we'll have to wait until Professor Bast gets out of class. She'll get it sorted.

Albus looked around the kitchen; she saw the elves glancing at the students congregated with curiosity. "What should we do Albus," Rose murmered, "I can see you're formulating a plan." Scorpius carried Kublai over. "Yeah, mate, I know you can figure something out."

Albus saw the trust in their eyes. The old anger wanted to rise up; he wanted to bellow at them, "What makes you think I can do something that Diana can't?"

Then he remembered the lesson of the blown up Grindylow.

_You can resent it, or embrace it and do something productive..._

Albus walked past Lunker over to the eldest kitchen elf, one they called Poppy. Who was cooking on one of the many stovetops with his long beard comically thrown over his shoulder.

"Poppy? Can we borrow you a few moments?" Albus asked, startling the old elf. Albus noticed that the older the elf was, the stranger it is to them to be addressed by a Wizard. Poppy's eyes narrowed a moment, and then he brightened up. "Oh, you are Kreacher's master, he talks of you all the time, what would you have of old Poppy, young wizard?"

"Could you come over and look at the portrait door? It seems to be stuck."

Poppy nodded, wiped his hands, re-centred his long beard, which nearly reached his knees, and hopped down to follow Albus.

As they approached, he saw some students giving him a strange look, some looked confused, others affronted. "Was there no professor available?" One of the fifth years called. Poppy's ears dropped a bit.

Rose jumped in, "Elves know more magic than a wizard will ever know, they practically are magic, you idiot!"

Poppy glanced at her in surprise then seemed to recognize her as Hermione Granger's daughter; he turned back to the portrait his eyes glimmering in determination. "Young miss, young masters, please step aside so old Poppy can have a look see."

Diana to her credit backed away indicated him to proceed gracefully.

Poppy closed his eyes in concentration, his long fingers held out to the portrait, his thick white eye brows canted in concentration as he murmured to himself.

"Ahh yes, there's the original spell, old...old spell it is. There is the one that controls the combination, been tampered with it has, but Poppy can fix it, he can..."

He made a fist of his hand and gave it a tug back.

The portrait clicked and swung open.

The students cheered and began to file in. Poppy looked a little woozy, it was Diana that held him up. "Thanks, er...Poppy. Can you tell me what happened?"

The old elf patted her hand fondly. "Someone figured out the code changer, young Miss, they scrambles it, Poppy fixed it though. He also put a jinx on it so they cannot do this again if they want to keeps their hair."

Diana smiled wickedly. "How much of their hair."

Poppy grinned as he popped his fingers. "All of it of course, young miss, all of it."

Diana laughed, Albus, Rose and Scorpius joined her. "I like your style, Poppy, I do like your style," she remarked with a snigger. She patted him on the back fondly and went on in.

"Thanks Poppy," Albus said as the old elf turned to go back to his duties. He paused, looked a tad confused for a moment. "No, thank you, young master for seeing us."

The other elves chatted with him fondly as he crossed back to the stove.

Albus watched him go then followed Rose and Scorpius inside.

-

They spent the rest of the night pampering Kublai and working on homework for herbology.

The next few days went by rather fast. Now that he knew what to expect from the teachers the transition back into the classroom was a lot smoother.

Professor Bast was demanding but kind, Professor Patil was hard to follow and complicated, Professor Hemophilias was scary, all as usual, fitting like a well-worn glove.

When he was not fretting over his disastrous Potions class, Albus watched the Slytherins closely the next few days for signs of Poppy's jinx. It so happened, that he was looking at the wrong table.

Diana stopped by during breakfast on Wednesday morning. "I figured out who tampered with our portrait," she said with the brightest smile Albus could ever remember her showing.

"Who?" Rose piped up.

In the way of answering, Diana pointed a finger in the direction of Ravenclaw. Albus followed her gesture.

There seated among her fellow students shooting Diana evil looks, was Head Girl Elanor Ferraro. She was bald as Professor Flint and not happy about it.

_Looks like Hufflepuff is under attack from two sides, not one_.

* * *

**Thought of the Day: **Elves are magical creatures, and beyond that they are sentient magical creatures. I wonder why there has not been a elf teacher at Hogwarts. They clearly know more magic than wizards since it is part of their lifeblood. Oh well I guess they like to be servants and teaching would feel too much like authority. That's my take, what's yours?

**Bart**


	9. Chapter 9 One Bad Loop

**Chapter Notes: **Let's get this out of the way.

**Question:** Where have you been? **Answer: **Writing on a project that I can actually publish.

**Question: **You are going to finish this story...right? **Answer: **I will do my best, but I work third shift at a dead end job that takes a lot out of me and if I can finally get something published I might have more time to work on my writing, so right now finishing up a publishable manuscript is a siren call I cannot deny.

**Question: **Does this chapter mean that you will update more frequently from now on? **Answer: **Ask me after next chapter gets posted I should have an answer for you then.

I would suggest refreshing your memory before reading this, I know I had to before writing it. I think it has some of the old magic in it, at least I hope so. This is the beginning of a mini story arch so any answers will be answered in the next few chapters. Hang in there.

I remember some of what it was like to be a kid, it's a jungle out there, if you think my characters are acting too petty, sorry, trying to write them warts and all like I promised I would.

All that being said: welcome new readers...welcome back faithful readers and for those who love to write scathing reviews hiding behind anonymous postings that I can't reply to...tbbbbbbtttt!

**As always kids, read and review because I am still needy!**

**Bart  
**

* * *

**Albus Potter and the Black Badger Society**

**Chapter 9: One Bad Loop...**

Albus's hope that Scorpius and Rose would settle down into a cease fire turned out to be a lost cause.

Scorpius seemed to be drifting away from their group more and more often as the days progressed. He found easy praise and undivided attention in his new group of friends, Destiny Segretti tossed her hair so often when the tall pale Malfoy was near that Albus was sure she visited the Medical Wing for neck soreness.

The most alarming development was that Rose and Scorpius found little reason to argue in the proceeding days. She even showed less irritation when he would leave them to hang out with his fans. "If that's what the prat wants, then who am I to argue." She replied to Albus archly, when Albus made a comment at one of Scorpius's many breakfasts away. "You don't find it alarming?" He replied with exasperation. She gave him her best Aunt Hermione are-you-daft look. "Should I?"

He had no reply as she went back to her bangers.

Defence Against the Dark Arts continued to be fascination, with Professor Cody challenging students one on one, then giving them assessments. This was far from the dry theory of the year before.

Albus heard of an event that occurred in the other Second Year Class that he found alarming.

It was late one Wednesday evening in the Cellar, Albus was pouting about a horrific double Potions Class, one that had seen yet another Azure Gorman inspired disaster which left Albus hiding Troll Ears the rest of the day. He complained that Liam Donovan did not even participate or give advice, just left Albus alone to deal with the stubborn girl.

"Well I don't think the bloke was up to it," Scorpius remarked interrupting a disgustingly effortless recounting of the Herbology Chapter on Grindswitch Root and its caustic properties for the exam on Thursday.

Gas nodded his agreement, "Yeah that's what I heard."

Rose glared at them both, "You imbeciles should know better than to spread rumours."

Cormac and Albus exchanged a glance and mutual shrugs of ignorance.

"What happened?" Albus demanded.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Why don't you ask Gryffindor's biggest fan, Malboy, over here."

Scorpius stuck out his tongue in a very mature retort. "I heard from Carina Stern about it."

"She the tall dark and gossipy one?" Rose remarked.

Scorpius grinned in an evil manner. "Yes, and she's tall without teasing her hair into a tangled bush."

Rose glowered at him, and Albus had to hide a relieved smile at the conflict. "Go on," Albus encouraged.

Gas spoke first in his typical style. "He and Professor Orion got into it, nearly blew out tha windows, is what I heard."

Scorpius gave Gas a look for stealing his thunder.

Albus's jaw dropped. "What do you mean, got into it?"

"Well Carina said that Cody called him out, said he wanted the boy to do his worst. Liam refused, so hit him with a blister spell, told him to defend himself," Scorpius began.

"He still refused, and then Cody said something to the effect, "I guess I should have known you'd be a coward," Rose interjected to Scorpius's annoyance.

He was about to open his mouth when Gas added, "They got into it."

"He knows that much," Scorpius responded with a hiss. "Well, tell him about it then," Rose called, clearly enjoying the needling.

Scorpius shot her a glare then continued. "They said that Donovan threw all sorts of spells, and Cody just acted bored, then Donovan really got mad and Cody had to stun him, after it was over with Cody told everyone that class was over, and he and Donovan stayed behind for a chat, nobody knows what about because the door had an anti-eavesdropping charm."

"So Liam's suspended or in detention, right?" Albus concluded.

Scorpius shook his head, "No that's the weird part, he didn't even punish him."

Albus did not hide his astonishment at that news. "What is Cody playing at?" he mused out loud.

"Whatevah it is, he's nah playin soft," Cormac remarked.

They all sat in silence at that pronouncement.

Albus was about to comment on that when the round main door opened and in stepped Professor Bast.

Her bright yellow eyes caught the firelight; she waved at the small group and made her way over, her smile showing a small bit of fang.

This was certainly a departure for the older students who were used to the Head of House never darkening the Cellar's door. They all gaped at her as the first-years did at the Sorting feast.

"Can I get some volunteers to round everyone up, I need to have a word with the House," she remarked with a smile.

Several students rushed off to scour the bunkrooms as she stood in front of the fireplace.

"So, how are your studies coming along?" she asked the little group.

"Oh I do so love second-year!" Rose blurted.

Albus waited for Scorpius to comment, but he just rolled his eyes as she launched into an assessment of the new curriculum.

"Albus, you have been quiet, is everything alright?" Professor Bast inquired.

Albus sighed. "Just a bit of bother in Potions so far."

She nodded as if she were aware of the change in situation. "Change is never an easy proposition, but tell me, Albus, before this alteration, was Potions easy for you?"

Albus did not need much reflection to nod his head.

Her smile became even warmer. "We never learn to swim if we wade in the shallows our whole life, a blade is sharpened by friction not by another blade just as smooth, I know it is difficult but you will see the point someday."

Albus shrugged, "I liked shallow."

Rose and Scorpius called out at the same time. "You would."

He shot them a glare but they were too busy glancing at each other in disgust to see it.

By then the rest of Hufflepuff that was currently in House had gathered in the Cellar.

Professor Bast adjusted her position so that everyone had a line of sight.

"I know you are all bright students, and that the current rash of mean spirited pranks aimed at this House that have been occurring have not escaped your notice."

There were several persons nodding agreement.

"I am here to say that as a staff we cannot interfere unless we catch the culprits and I am also aware that the unofficial student code will not allow for someone to inform," She said with a sigh of exasperation, "however, there are some things that we can do as a House to make ourselves less likely targets."

She enumerated the steps on her claws as she spoke. "First of all, do nothing alone, most of these attacks have occurred when students have been isolated. Second, do not attempt to retaliate; as long as there is no return attacks, then this concerted effort will cease to be interesting. Third, we are Badgers, we watch out for each other, if you see a prank occurring don't hesitate to become involved, you have my permission within reason to protect each other."

She let her words sink in before adding, "I think that our House is rising within Hogwarts, we have been on the bottom for so long that it is a threat to the status quo that we are beginning to excel, the greatest revenge Hufflepuff can have is to continue our ascension and not let anyone dissuade us. I hope I am making myself clear."

They all nodded and there were a few whoops and cheers, she waved and made her way out, talking with a few more students before she exited, including her two prefects, Diana and Corny.

Albus and his small group sat there in silence, homework forgotten.

"Do you think she's right?" Albus murmured.

"Bought wha?" Cormac replied.

Albus met their eyes. "About not retaliating?"

"From a historical standpoint," Rose replied, "allowing an aggressor to continue attacking with no return of aggression, merely taking a defensive posture has been very effective."

Scorpius sighed. "What brainiac girl is trying to say is, she agrees with Professor Bast."

Rose glowered at him. "I said what I said."

Gaspar put down his quill. "A bully never gives up unless you make him give up, that's what makes him a bully. You can curl into a ball and let them have their way but in the end if you don't bloody their damned nose and let them know there is a price to be paid for messing with you, it never ends." He stated his voice quavering with a restrained fury.

He suddenly blinked as if returning from somewhere distant, saw the looks he was getting and managed a weak smile. "If you don't mind I'm turning in."

Cormac nodded to the group as he stood to follow. "Good'night."

They sat there in silence.

Scorpius broke it when he said, "If the time ever comes, I think Gasper might be right."

Rose was not being deliberately argumentative by her tone, but she did debate.

"Why do you think Gasper's right and Professor Bast is wrong?"

Albus answered, "Because Gasper knows bullies," his voice trailed off when he added, "so do I." He met Rose and Scorpius's eyes. "So do we all."

Rose stared at the two boys, and then admitted, "Good answer."

**--- **

The rest of the week went by rather smoothly with no more Hufflepuffs attacked; the students took Professor Bast's suggestions to heart. The hourglasses continued to rise with Hufflepuff topazes easily rivalling the sapphire, rubies and emeralds of the other Houses.

Albus both loved and hated Thursdays.

The morning up until lunch was spent having fun in the Arboretum with Uncle Neville in double Herbology, in spite of the presence of glowering Slytherins of course, but afterwards...Transfiguration.

Transfiguration was still a struggle for Albus, his tendency to blow objects up not abating with the intervening summer. Professor Bast sighed as the smoke cleared and Rose pulled shards of a china teapot out of her hair. "Well, Albus, I see we need to work on wand waving subtlety once again, here try this one." She pulled out a hard baked ceramic teapot twice the size of the demolished one and sat it down. Albus heard the sniggers and his ears turned red but he managed to make some progress, well managed not to vaporize this new pot, which for him was progress.

Friday mornings was double Charms with the Gryffindors, and Rose was so determined to beat Scorpius that she nearly monopolized the class time.

Professor Patil was an intense task oriented teacher who used constant questioning to sharpen her students. However, after weeks of Rose Weasley domination she had taken to adding as a caveat to every question. "Does anyone besides Rose Weasley know?"

Scorpius found the whole situation amusing, and he found eager Gryffindor ears to joke about it. Callum and Allen seemed the most interested in his barbed asides. Rose's cheeks stayed in a permanent blush, while Albus just tried not to break a window with a mistimed wand sweep.

Yes, it was safe to say that Charms class was a chore!

There was one more obstacle to the weekend to overcome. After lunch on Fridays, there was a trip to the dark opulent salon of Hogwart's resident bloodsucker.

History of Magic differed from the year before in only one respect. Professor Hemophilias was able to make more eye contact, with his round dark lensed glasses he prowled, pranced, and posed as he recounted dreadful atrocities with the same tone of voice as benign advances.

Still closely watched by the dour old man in the painting with the reedy voice, the greater leeway was noticeable.

"There was a slaughter of the offending warlocks, they said that pieces of those dark wizards rained down like an early spring sprinkle, I imagine the cleaning bills for miles around were atrocious." Statements such as those met with dutiful giggles from his Hemophiliacs, of which Albus was disturbed to see, included Summer Sutherland. The golden haired Hufflepuff girl hung on the vampires every word with a fascination that could not be healthy. Her friend Iris was not as amused, and looked just as disturbed as Albus felt.

Scorpius stayed behind as they left the room to remark, "I think that monster is probably eyeing us like steak, but you can't tell with the glasses, I liked it better when you could see his eyes."

"Oh I don't know, those glasses make him a bit dashing," Rose stated with an airy voice. "I think your Gryffindor pals are waiting for you," she said acidly pointing past his shoulder.

Scorpius rolled his eyes and turned to catch up with his entourage who had appeared outside the classroom.

"Why do you keep pushing him away?" Albus murmured, "it's almost like you don't want him as a friend anymore!"

Rose crossed her arms and set her jaw. "Need I remind you, dear cousin; it was Malboy who left us."

Albus hated when she called him "dear cousin" he knew she was spoiling for a fight, and he was ready to give her one, but down that road was the breakup of everything they were, and he was not ready for that.

Therefore, without rising to the bait he turned and headed to dinner.

He found his stomach was not reacting to all the conflict very well, and he needed to get away, so he excused himself to go down to the pitch for a fly after he picked over his dinner for a bit.

He was not the only one who had that idea, as he reached the enclosure, he saw several upper classmen playing two-a-side up near the rings. He thought to join them but he just did not feel up to it. He noticed that at the other rings was a lone figure on a broom acting like a keeper.

The tow headed boy was so thin he resembled a scarecrow; he was turning, punching and kicking a leg out obviously running through his set. Albus mounted his Nimbus Millennium, and made his way up.

The boy was a fourth-year Hufflepuff that Albus had passed in the Cellar more than once, so intensely focused that he did not notice he had a visitor at first.

"You tryin for Keeper this year?" Albus called.

The boy was so startled he nearly fell off his broom, Albus tensed ready for a rescue, but he managed to recover.

"Don' scare a bloke like that, what's wrong with ya?" he called to Albus in an angry tone.

Albus held out his hands in a gesture of peace. "I just wanted to know if you'd like me to toss a few at ya?"

He realized to whom he was talking. "You broke Roderick's hand last year, think you'll go easier on me?"

Albus nodded, swinging close offering his hand. "You know who I am, what is your name?"

"Ichabod Crowe, they call me Icky, though," he informed his long fingered hand wrapping around Albus's nearly twice.

He eyed Albus suspiciously. "You dint give me tha look?"

Albus gave him curious eyes. "The look?"

Ichabod nodded. "I usually get a look when I tell people my nickname."

"I have a friend nicknamed Gas, Icky ain't that bad to me," Albus admitted.

They both had a friendly laugh.

"So, you want me to toss you a few?" Albus reiterated.

Icky nodded. "Just go easy at first, I'm no Roderick Yates."

Albus swept down and retrieved a Quaffle from ground and he and Icky spent the next hour working on his keeping. He was right about not being Roderick Yates, but the previous year's Hufflepuff Keeper, currently starting for the Appleby Arrows fresh out of Hogwarts, had just recently shut out the Magpies in his rookie season. It was safe to say that no one was going to be that good.

However, Icky had some good reflexes, and he was obviously making up for any deficiencies with hard work and determination. Even though Albus managed to rocket a few by, the lanky Keeper recovered and blocked the next few. He did complain about Albus hurting his hand and putting a bruise on his chest and shin.

They stopped for the day and flew down together. "You think I have a chance at Keeper?" Icky inquired as they made the ground.

Albus shrugged. "You'll have my vote!"

Icky beamed.

The pitch was filling up, Albus saw Scorpius down on the far end performing some acrobatics on his SkyBolt. Albus felt a moment of jealousy that his friend had not mentioned his intent to come down.

There were some Gryffindors calling out things for him to try from the ground. Scorpius was executing the manoeuvres easily, earning their applause.

"Going ta go ice me hand." Icky stated and he and Albus exchanged nods before parting.

Albus was about to walk over to the group under Scorpius when he heard an argument.

"I know you were looking at her, Grayson, don't tell me you weren't..."

Albus realized with a start that it was his cousin, Dominique's voice, she sounded like she had been crying.

"I just want to go for a fly, leave me alone," she bellowed. Albus nearly hit the ground as his silver haired relation blew by him on her broom and climbed up into the air.

Her burly boyfriend, Grayson Wood was chasing her, but he did not have his broom with him so he could only stand beside Albus and watch her soar.

"Hey, Albus," he remarked his tone absent as he watched her do a figure eight up above.

Albus knew he should not pry, but it was his cousin after all, "You and Dom have a fight?"

Grayson nodded with a groan. "She's being mental."

Albus smiled. "She's part Veela and half Weasley, that's about as mental as you can get."

Grayson managed to chuckle. "Yeah, you've got a point there."

Albus's eyes wandered over to where his friend was still holding court.

"Can you do a _Krum Coaster_?" called one of his adoring fans.

Albus was suddenly concerned.

Grayson heard as well. "Your friend better not try that, only one man in the world has ever pulled one of those out!"

Albus nodded silently praying Scorpius's need for attention would not override his common sense.

Vicktor Krum was still arguably the best Seeker ever to mount a broom, the one event that solidified his status in the minds of the Quidditch experts for all time was a manoeuvre that he invented. He first displayed it when Bulgaria finally won the World Cup. The _Krum Coaster_ was a variation on a Wronski Feint where a Seeker upon spying the Snitch overhead immediately performed a Wronski Feint fake dive, pulling back so hard that he did a loop while upside down to catch the Snitch at the top. Most men who had attempted the Coaster lost too much momentum to complete the arc; others had passed out from the g-forces. Nearly banned in international competition; the only thing saving it was that no one dared attempt it.

To Albus's horror, Scorpius began his climb.

"Oh no! Albus murmered.

Grayson had other concerns. "Dominique is up there, he doesn't have the room!"

Albus saw his cousin where Grayson was pointing; she was making languid circles, not really noticing where she was going.

"Scorpius...No!" Albus yelled.

His friend already had his jaw set and was on the downward dive at a suicidal angle, he swished by Albus less than a meter away; the accompanying breeze blew Albus back.

Albus suddenly felt that familiar calm overtake him.

"Grayson, run and get Madam Pomfrey, now!" he commanded.

With one motion, he mounted his broom and kicked off.

His mind calculated the point of impact and he bore down on his broom to get to a point across the Pitch.

He did not hear the actual collision but he heard the gasps of Scorpius's cheering section as he sped up pushing his trusty broom as fast as it would go.

He glanced up to see Dom falling through the air, and Scorpius hanging on the end of his broom looking dazed. Albus pulled up higher than Dom's falling limp body, then dived to match her momentum. He hauled her into his arms and then did his best to pull up, he felt no change, and the ground was coming up too fast.

Suddenly, a gloved hand reached out and grabbed the end of his broom, and a bruised and bloody Scorpius showing that amazing fearlessness added the lift of his broom to Albus's effort and they managed to pull his Nimbus even, just in time as Albus felt grass brushing his feet.

They turned back to the entrance to the Pitch in time to see Madam Pomfrey bustling down the hill from Hogwarts her forehead wrinkled with worry. Grayson followed his face as white as Nearly Headless Nick's ruff.

Albus laid Dom on the grass, Scorpius landed, holding his arm to his body.

"I'm so sorry, Albus, I didn't see her!" he explained in a pleading voice.

"Please...go...see if you can get her broom back at least," Albus said through clenched teeth.

His favourite cousin was on the grass, hurt who knows how much, Albus was not in the mood for his explanations.

Scorpius slumped; he remounted his broom and took off in pursuit.

Dom was moaning which Albus was happy to hear.

"Lie still, 'Nique, Madam Pomfrey is almost here."

"Grayson?" she murmured.

Albus smiled. "He's with her, just lie still."

Albus glanced up and saw that Scorpius's group of friends had disbanded rather quickly, leaving him to his consequences.

He shook his head in disgust.

_If Scorpius can't see who his real friends are after this, he deserves that lot!_

_

* * *

_**Thought of the Day: **Why do we tear down our heroes? It's almost as if we resent them for being better at something that we are not. It is a very thin line between beloved and despised. That being said, why do we invest so much energy in human beings that will ultimately let us down then express shock when the inevitable happens...oh and then revenerate them after their death? I'm sure all of those starving artists, who can't sell a painting or a book or achieve recognition in their lifetime, really appreciate the posthumous applause!

nuff said...rant over...discuss

**Bart**


	10. Chapter 10 Late, Better than Never

**Chapter Notes: **I have an apology to make. I am sorry that I failed in the implied contract I have with everyone of you to update in a timely manner. I have lost readers along the way and that is my fault. To make up for it I have made a commitment that by the time we hit Christmas this year I will be at Christmas in this story. Like I said this installment is more involved and complicated but won't let that stop me from putting out quality. I was reading the Wiki-fanon page and was amazed at the love and detail that someone put into that and if someone I have never met can love my characters that much then I need to make a greater commitment to this process.

I have a few twists coming up but also writing some good old fashioned Albus madness and fun...so I hope some of the people I have distanced through my negligence find their way back...and for those who have hung in there you have my gratitude and apologies.

Stay tuned and interested!

**Bart**

**Be sure to Read and Review because that's my fuel!  
**

* * *

**Albus Potter and the Black Badger Society**

**Chapter 10: Late, Better Than Never...**

The Medical Wing of Hogwarts was alive with the sounds of squabbling Weasley's.

Madam Pomfrey had banished anyone that was not family, all except Dom's boyfriend who refused to leave her side.

A sad looking Scorpius had his arm mended and he left, head down without another word to Rose or Albus. Before he retreated, he rested Dom's battered broom against her bedpost.

Fred restrained James from going after him.

Rose and James were nose to nose in an argument, Roxy and Molly were in deep discussion while alternately brushing Dominique's hair, Fred sat comforting his friend Grayson who was still white enough to give the Gray Lady pause, Albus and Lucy just watched the mayhem off to the side.

"He didn't mean to do it, James, he wouldn't have collided with Dom on purpose," Rose bellowed. James scoffed. "He's a Malfoy who plays for the second best team from last year, and he took out one of our starting Chasers, are you really that naive?" "Just because it's something that you would do, doesn't mean that Scorpius would do it!" she returned her glare showing that she was about to get really nasty.

"It..." came a raspy voice from the bed. They all got quiet and saw that Dom's eyes were open. "It...wasss...my fault," Dom managed with a tired smile.

Roxy brushed a lock of her hair over an ear. "Are you sure? I mean he was being dangerous flying that broom, he's not going to get away with it."

Dom managed to shake her head weakly. "He was coming up backwards and couldn't see me. I was crying about something stupid, I heard the warnings but I didn't move. It's my fault."

Grayson gently moved the cousins aside and took her hand. "No...it's my fault, I'm so sorry, Nique."

She took his hand and pressed it to her cheek.

"It's time we gave them some privacy," Molly announced, her twin agreeing, arms crossed with a glare for any who opposed.

They walked away from the bed, with Rose and James still quarrelling under their breaths.

Fred put a burly arm around Albus's shoulders. "Did he mean to do it, Albus, if you tell me no, I'll believe it."

Albus shook his head in his most adamant manner. "Absolutely not, Scorpius is all twisted up about this, he helped me save her, and he did it with a broken arm!"

Rose overheard, she turned to them her face flushed. "Of course he didn't mean it! He's a Malfoy in name only; James is more devious than he is!"

James glowered at her. "Well I don't care what Albus says, I'm going to make that little git pay!"

Fred's voice was low and threatening as he said, "Let it go, Jimbo."

James gave them all a defiant glare. "I don't care what the rest of you think, Scorpius is going to pay as soon as I find him!"

Albus put off by his brother's behaviour; he knew that James and Dom were not close, but for his brother to lose his temper to this degree was certainly telling.

Molly and Lucy stepped up before Rose could get over her sputtering anger. "James, this situation is bad enough without you getting into it, let the professors sort it," Roxy stated lining up with the sisters, her arms crossed dangerously.

"I'm warning you!" Rose called, her wand already out.

"You might not care about someone hurting the family, but I'm not going to let it stand!" James growled, "You can't stop me and you know it, Rose!"

"CARNIVRO CANARIUS!" Rose shouted as dozens of little crimson canaries sprouted out of her wand and launched at James.

James yelped as he was pecked and scratched mercilessly, then the spell dissipated.

"What is the meaning of this?" Madam Pomfrey demanded as she bustled up, her iron gray hair wisping around her head.

She tutted over James and sent him over to be patched. "Leave, before you give me anymore work!" She demanded pointing to the door in a manner that allowed no protest.

"How did you get the canaries to turn red, your mum's canaries were yellow when she sicced them on Uncle Ron last New Years?" Molly asked conversationally as they made the hallway, everyone knew red was her favourite colour.

"I don't know, that's the first time I got it to work!" Rose admitted with a shy smile.

Fred chuckled, "We're friends, right Rose?"

She smirked. "For now."

He feigned terror.

"Oh, there you are," said an insouciant voice from behind them in the hallway.

Leon Sloan strolled up, his Head Boy pin shining as if freshly polished.

"Albus Potter, you are needed in the Headmaster's Office. Get going," he said jerking his thumb in the direction he had just come, one of his perpetual sneers plastered on his face.

Fred walked up to Leon, looming over the smaller boy with his muscular arms crossed. "Say please."

Leon glared up at him his eyes showing a flash of fear realizing that he was just rude to a member of the largest family at Hogwarts without his entourage to back him up. "I am Head Boy, I don't have to say please," he replied with a bit of squeak in his voice.

Molly and Lucy, closed in on the left while Roxy and Rose took her brother's right.

"Being Head Boy does not exclude you from being polite, there is no rule that says that it does," Lucy declared in a fussy tone that would have made her father proud.

Leon looked as if he were chewing an unripe persimmon when he glared at Albus and said, "If you don't mind, Professor Shacklebolt has requested your presence, please."

Albus nodded, and started to walk off until Rose grabbed his arm. "I suggest we take a different path from the one Leon wants you to go, and we are to go nowhere on our own, remember what Professor Bast said?"

Albus felt his cheeks flush from embarrassment, he glanced at Leon Sloan to see disappointment in his eyes, and suddenly he realized where the boy's entourage might be.

He waved goodbye to his cousins and followed Rose up another corridor, if anyone could find their way to the Headmaster's via an alternative route it was his cousin.

"See ya, Albus!" Fred called, putting an arm around Sloan's shoulders hard enough to make the small boy's legs buckle a bit. "Since I have your attention, during my time as a Prefect, I have seen some problems I think need to be addressed..."

They turned the corner and Rose chuckled, "I almost feel sorry for Sloan."

Albus told her about what he saw in Sloan's expression.

Her eyes narrowed but she kept her comments to herself for once. A fact Albus felt alarming.

**---**

They picked their way carefully up the the Headmaster's Tower, avoiding any students in Ravenclaw, Gryffindor or Slytherin robes just in case. Albus at one point pulled Rose back from what turned out to be a Growltooth snare. They heard flapping footsteps making the rounds up the South corridor so they adjusted and took another route.

Rose soon got a panicky look in her eyes that Albus recognized. She only got this way when she thought they might be lost.

He saw a stairway he had never taken off to their left, he thought it might take them up to the next level; he tugged on Rose's sleeve and indicated it.

She was biting her lip but she managed to nod.

They were disappointed to find a door at the top, they tried it and found it locked and were turning to go when it opened.

The visiting artist, Chrys Euryale stuck her head out.

Albus lost all ability to think, if she was beautiful at a distance, up close she was overwhelming.

"Yes?" she asked politely, her voice a sweet and pure in person as Albus remembered from the dais at the feast.

Rose nudged him forcefully. "Breathe, you idiot."

Albus sucked in a breath. "We are trying to find the Headmaster's, I think we took a wrong turn.'

She got a thoughtful look on her face. "Indeed you have, go back up the corridor and take the next two lefts and you'll find a stairway leading you up, you'll know where you are from there, watch for that Goblin!"

She smiled and the dimples in her cheeks were devastating.

Rose gave his shin a kick.

He hissed in pain. "Ttth-hank you m-Missus Euryale," he stammered.

She gave him a pout. "Oh, none of that Missus rubbish, call me Chrys."

Rose gave Albus a tug. "Thanks, Chrys!" She commented tugging Albus with her. Albus managed to wave. Chrys shut the door with a musical chuckle.

"You're worse than Scorpius," Rose complained in a huff.

"You're the one that got us lost!" Albus shot back.

She stuck her tongue out in a mature retort, which Albus answered just as rudely.

They found the right corridor soon enough and approached some familiar Gargoyles.

Albus was happy to see that it was Felix and Felicis, the two bickering pieces of statuary had been a thorn in Shacklebolt's side and he had threatened to replace them, but there they were arguing under their breath, if they breathed that is.

"Albus Potter, and little Rosie, my Felix, look how they've grown!" said the friendlier of the two.

"Password?" the other grunted.

Felicis rolled its eyes in irritation. "Oh don't mind that old grump, Mozambique is the password."

"Felicis, do I need to explain the concept of security to you again?" Felix whined.

"Mozambique," Albus called.

Felicis jumped out of the way revealing the winding moving staircase, giving them a short bow waving them on with an elegant gesture, Felix stepped out of the way turned his winged back crossed his arms and grumbled.

Albus returned Felicis's wink with one of his own as they went past.

They reached the landing in front of a large elaborate wooden door and clanked the brass knocker.

"Enter," replied Shacklebolt's magically enhanced voice.

The office within, decorated in tan and gold, had tropical plants growing from pots in the corners. Albus recognized several antique Dark-Art detection devices featured on pedestals, the odd fake magic eye rotated and focused on the intruders. They passed a large ornate Foe-Glass, and a gold and jewel encrusted Sneakoscope as they made their across a carpet of soft reeds to the large desk. Portraits of former headmasters and mistresses, some sleeping, surrounded it. Albus got a wave from the portrait of Dumbledore, a kindly bearded man with half moon spectacles, which he returned, the greasy haired sallow man to his immediate right gave the two a curt nod.

"We are over here," Shacklebolt called.

There, sitting in the chairs by the fireplace was Professors Longbottom and Bast, Scorpius looking small, penitent and scared. Professor Shacklebolt was standing impatiently.

"Did you two get lost?" he asked.

They nodded; he accepted the excuse and indicated for them to take two of the seats.

"I wish to commend you three for staying out of my office for nearly a month this time, now tell me what happened." Shacklebolt stated with an ironic smile.

Albus and Rose both blushed at that. Albus told the events trying to paint his friend in the best light possible, unfortunately he was not able to help him much.

"Is Dominique alright?" Uncle Neville asked with a note of concern.

"She was awake, alert and talking when we left," Rose replied, and then added, "she said it was an accident and that Scorpius could not have seen her."

Scorpius shot her a look that revealed that he had no idea she was going to take his side.

She wrinkled her nose cutely at him causing him to smirk.

Professor Bast sighed. "There is still a grave matter before us; if we let this pass then it will encourage others to take dangerous chances on their brooms."

Professor Shacklebolt nodded agreement. "I know you are extraordinary on a broom, Scorpius, but the manoeuvre you attempted is so dangerous the man who actually invented it has condemned it himself!"

Scorpius nodded, his face flushed with shame.

Uncle Neville's face was kind. "I realize that some of my House were encouraging you, peer pressure is such a powerful force, but you are an accomplished young man with two amazing friends here, why were you trying to impress people who barely know you?"

Professor Bast nodded agreement, her eyes curious.

Scorpius shrugged. "I don't know. I wasn't thinking."

Rose let out a snort of derision, which caused Albus and Scorpius both to shoot her a look.

Shacklebolt was quiet, his hands behind his back as he stood deep in thought.

"I am suspending you for the first Quidditch game of the season, Scorpius, bring your broom to Professor Longbottom for safe keeping, you are forbidden from practicing as well until after that first match, fifteen points from Hufflepuff.

Scorpius winced. For someone who loved to fly as he did, banishment from his broom was a fearsome punishment indeed.

Professor Bast agreed with weary resignation, her face showing the realization of how her House Cup hopes had taken a downward turn. "I'm just glad no one was hurt, you three need to get to bed."

Shacklebolt agreed nodding to the door.

They left in silence.

They walked without conversation, but Albus knew that Rose was literally bursting at the seams to question Scorpius, Albus was proud of her restraint.

"They had a good point you know, what did that lot offer you that Albus and I don't? We have a right to know," Rose demanded sullenly.

Albus slapped a hand to his forehead in frustration. _Okay maybe not so proud!_

Scorpius walked a few steps away; he refused to meet their eyes. "I'm just trying to make my Dad proud of me. You don't know how it is."

"Oh really, yeah me and Albus don't know what it's like carrying a last name that everyone knows and all the baggage that comes with it!" Rose remarked angrily with her arms crossed.

Albus decided to get in on it. "She's right, I'm a Potter, son of the saviour of the Wizard world, and her mum happens to have written most of the major laws that we all have been living by for the last fifteen years or so, what would we know about the burden of parental expectation?"

Scorpius glared at them. "Your parents are different and you know it. All my Dad cares about is our reputation, our influence, I just wanted to do my part and make him proud."

"And if proving yourself to your evil dad means making yourself into something you're not and losing the friends who were there from the beginning even when you were outcast? Is it worth it?" Rose demanded.

Scorpius glared at them both. "If we are such good friends then why didn't Albus get me a birthday present? His was the one I had been looking forward to, he's supposed to be my best mate!'

Rose turned and punched Albus on the arm hard enough to knock him a few steps. "I told you that you were being mental!"

He rubbed his shoulder glaring at her. "Ow!"

Scorpius watched them his curiosity peaked. "What is she talking about?"

Albus felt ashamed. "I'm sorry. I had your present, but when you got that SkyBolt I hid it in Rose's bag. I thought you might find it a bit...lame."

Scorpius looked confused. "It was your gift, Albus, there's no way I would think it lame."

Rose punched Albus on his other arm. "See!"

Albus yanked his wand out of his robes and pointed it at her. "I'll give it to him, now, stop hitting me!"

Rose smiled and gave him a wink. "See, you can be reasonable."

They got back to The Cellar shortly thereafter.

Scorpius waited while Rose went into the girl's tunnel and returned with her bag. She nearly had to reach her entire upper body into the thing as she rummaged, but from deep inside the cavernous hold, she said. "Ah here it is."

She pulled out the haphazardly wrapped long cylindrical package and pointedly handed it to Albus. Her eyes narrowed and she nodded toward Scorpius. He glowered at her and handed to his friend.

Scorpius paused a moment before tearing into it.

There were some students milling about staring at them curiously, they started when Scorpius let out a whoop of delight.

It did not look like much, scorched and a lot of the black finish was off, but Scorpius traced the lines lovingly. "You got me a Firebolt? How?"

Albus shrugged, feeling like an even bigger idiot when he saw his friend's reaction. "When you flew dad's I saw how suited you are to a 'bolts capabilities, so I checked around. They were scarce before, but since your little stunt in the finals last year, they've become collector's items and impossible to find."

Scorpius nodded his eyes never leaving the broom. "I know, Dad wanted to replace your Dad's broom, but he couldn't find one even with his connections!"

"Well your Dad's powerful, but he's no Uncle George," Rose remarked happily.

Albus nodded agreement. "I asked Uncle George to find one, he's got connections all over, some of them not exactly legal between us, and if it exists George Weasley can find it!"

Scorpius grinned. "I believe it, but how?"

Albus sighed. "He wouldn't tell me everything in case I got questioned later, but I think he went all the way to Ireland because the 1994 World Cup winning Irish team all had Firebolts, so he checked the former players and found that the Seeker from that year..."

"Aidan Lynch," Scorpius supplied awe in his voice.

Albus nodded, "Yes, Aidan Lynch, lost his 'bolt in a game of Exploding Snap to a Goblin called Gunthorn, who then traded it to a wealthy Wizard for a Goblin made tea set, that Wizard ran into some financial difficulties and sold off his valuables to an business interest..."

"Get to the bottom line, geez Albus you're as bad as Grand Weasley," Rose interjected.

Albus scowed at her then remarked, "He found it at an estate auction in Dunsmore, it was part of a fire sale, literally, there was an explosion and fire when this absentminded alchemist mistook Dragon's bladder for Erumpet scrapings. It was scorched and the twigs burned away, I don't know if it can be mended, but it is genuine, it has the original markings and serial number."

Scorpius found it with his finger. "Model No. 188 of 300 made, this broom flew in the actual Quidditch World Cup! I can't believe it!"

Rose rolled her eyes. "I told him he was being daft." She gave Albus a light slap on the back of his head. "Stop that!" he groused.

"Team Meeting, Now!" a familiar voice bellowed.

They looked up to see Diana stroll over with Corny in tow, both looked upset, Violet and Valencia were a few steps off, but they did not look happy. They stood to the side with their bulging muscular forearms crossed; knowing what those two were capable of, the display was intimidating to say the least.

Albus gulped audibly, Rose quietly excused herself.

"I...I'm sorry guys," Scorpius began. Diana cut him off with a flicking gesture. "What's done is done; we need to figure out what to do about it."

Corny spoke up, "Well, I'll switch back to Seeker, for one game."

She glowered at him. "You had two years to prove that you were a Seeker, last year you played better than I have ever seen you play, I need you at Chaser."

"We don't have anyone else capable enough; you told me that the tryouts last year were not even close!" Cornelius insisted.

She was staring at Albus curiously. "You helped Scorpius prepare last year, you caught the Snitch ahead of him more than once."

Albus shook his head adamantly. "That was because I had a better broom."

She smiled; it sent chills down Albus's spine. "Your brother is the best Seeker at Hogwarts by some people's reckoning, your Father might be the best to ever mount a broom from some accounts I've read, your mum won the House Cup at Seeker the year your dad was suspended, and your Uncle Charlie was the standard before him, you've got Seeker blood and instincts in you somewhere." She remarked, deep in thought.

Albus gaped at her. "I'm a Chaser!"

Diana nodded, "Yes you are, there is no doubt you are, Albus, but you know our first opponent better than anyone else here."

Albus suddenly felt like vomiting. "Oh no..."

Her smile was radiant in the firelight, "Yes, you got it; you are playing Seeker against James Sirius Potter.

Albus placed his head in his hands.

_Not good!_

_

* * *

_**Thought of the Day: **Why do we let petty things come between us, why do we doubt our importance to those we care about most? Why do we risk relationships established for people who hardly know us?

(I could point a finger at myself for how I've neglected this series and it's awesome fanbase. _Slaps the back of my own head_)

Why are we such idiots?

**Bart**


	11. Chapter 11 Of Owls and Allegations

**Chapter Notes: **I have been locked up in a writer's block for nearly a month so sorry for the delay. This chapter has moments that are really sweet, and I feel has some of the old magic in them. It effectively ends a character arch which for some of my readers has been extremely disconcerting. I feel it is good work and it will stand on it's own, I hope you all agree.

**Bart**

**Feed my need, read and review!  
**

* * *

**Albus Potter and the Black Badger Society**

**Chapter 11: Of Owls and Allegations...**

Albus lay on his back in the Cellar common room, on a large couch by the magically lit fireplace, staring out at the projected night sky. He knew the starry night with its sprinkled clouds and proud moon was not real, but he enjoyed the view nonetheless.

He left the bunkroom after tossing and turning for a few hours, his mind and stomach for once conspiring to keep him awake.

Visions of his brother getting flying lessons from their dad flashed through his mind. He heard his uncles commenting that James was going to be the next great Potter Seeker while Albus stayed earth bound, deathly afraid of broom flight.

He remembered James swooping through the air and fulfilling those prophecies the year before, so good that he was able to toy with the girl who was presently Seeking professionally for the Holyhead Harpies this season. The only one to beat him was Scorpius, and his friend nearly killed himself to do it.

James was definitely Harry Potter's boy with his Seeking, Albus, however, loved Chasing. He loved the strategy of it, the technique involved, the angles and subterfuge, in this he had taken after his mum. Seeking was all about the best broom, reflexes, instinct and nerve.

Nerve? Albus was more likely to throw up than catch the Snitch!

James would finally show Hogwarts how he had dominated his little brother all their lives. How last year was an aberration. Soon all would know just who the heir to Harry Potter's mantle was, and Albus was secretly relieved.

James wanted to be the Potter boy of renown and it looked like he would get his wish.

"Ummmm, hello," said a quiet voice from the direction of the bunkroom tunnels.

Albus sat up and peered over the edge of the comfy yellow and black striped couch he had been resting on.

In the firelight, her glasses' reflecting the flames, was Iris Ivy. She was dressed in her nightdress and robe; and she had a small white bird in a cage dangling from her fingers.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know someone was up, if I'm disturbing..." she said as she started to back away.

"No, no!" Albus called, "come on over, no one here but this insomniac."

She smiled demurely, and made her way to fireside, she sat on the couch opposite him, the little bird turned out to be an owl, it was twittering in a disconsolate manner.

"Shhhhh, it's okay Snowflake, can you see the moon, you always like the moon?" she cooed. She glanced up shyly. "This is my owl, I got her over the break, I didn't have an owl last year, and I had to use the schools," she smiled at the irony before adding, "still do."

Albus bent down to peer into the cage, the little owl was as shy as her owner, cowering on her perch. "What's wrong with her, she's a bit small."

Iris nodded, "She was a runt, her Mum died and the magic pet store owner had no patience to take care of her. I saw her in the back, I wasn't sure she was even alive, I've been nursing her to health, but I can't keep her in the School Owlery, the bigger owls scare her."

Albus worked in his Uncle George's Magical Creatures Menagerie at Tri-W so he knew a trick or two about gentling owls. He poked the tip of his finger through the cage, not far enough to be intrusive and kept it there patiently, the little owl cautiously made her way forward when it saw Albus was not intruding, it nipped his finger a bit, he gave her crown feathers a rub. She quieted.

"Wow, she likes you, how did you do that?" Iris said her voice thick with admiration.

Albus just shrugged. "I like owls, well except for Loki, my brother's owl, that is one twisted bird."

She got a dreamy look on her face, "I'm hoping Snow will look like your family's white owl some day, he is so beautiful when he swoops in."

"Yeah, that's Roarke," Albus replied with a sigh, "please don't admire him where he can see, he's arrogant enough as it is."

She giggled at that.

They sat in silence for a few moments listening to Snowflake coo in the moonlight.

"Can I ask why you're up so late, I don't mean to pry?" Iris inquired cautiously.

Albus shrugged. "I have to play Seeker against James, my brother our first game of the season; I can't beat him, he's the best at Hogwarts."

She tilted her head a quizzical expression lit her features. "I'm not following, if he wins, he wins, how does it matter?"

Albus sighed. "I guess I'm being mental."

She smiled. "If I had your family I would be."

"Oh?" Albus said with a start.

She nodded. "I mean think about it, you don't have one relative that is not at the top of their field, all of them are over achievers. I mean I had posters up on my walls..."

She trailed off, even in the dim light Albus could see her blush.

"You had posters up on your wall, of whom?" he inquired with a smirk.

She petted her bird for a few moments, then replied, "I'm a Muggleborn, but when I started to learn about the Wizard World your Aunt Hermione became my hero, I have all fifteen of her books, she even signed _So, you are Muggleborn?_ for me last fall. She was amazingly kind, talked to my parents for nearly an hour, and calmed them right down about the whole Hogwarts thing."

"Yeah, she's amazing, but you did say posters, as in more than one ?" Albus inquired again, needling for more information.

She studied the spelled ceiling then murmured, "The other posters are of you."

Albus glanced off for a moment nonplussed, and then asked, "Which ones?"

She bit her lip nervously. "Please, don't think I'm some weirdo stalker, I just have the one of you at that benefit banquet for the Romanian Dragon Preserve, you being dangled upside down by your Uncle Charlie, I thought it was cute."

Albus rolled his eyes at that information. _It had to be that one!_

"Oh and that one of you in Diagon Alley on Hagrid' shoulders, I originally got that poster for the Unicorn foal he was carrying, it was the first time I ever saw one," she added, "I love magical creatures, I hope to be a magizoologist someday."

Albus nodded. "I bet you'd be tops at it," her remarked. Her cheeks flushed as she stammered her thanks.

Albus was surprised to realize that he felt better and a bit drowsy after all.

"Thanks for the talk, I'm headed to bed, goodnight," he informed as he stood to go.

She nodded her good night. He started to walk away when she blurted out, "you can win, you know."

He turned giving her a strange look. "Win what?"

"Quidditch, against your brother, you can win," she confirmed her voice adamant.

He shook his head ruefully. "I hope so, but it doesn't look very good at the moment."

"I've been around you for over a year now," she replied studying her hands, then she looked up her eyes were earnest behind those glasses, "I've come to the conclusion that you don't know how to lose, you'll always find a way, just believe in yourself."

Albus gaped at her a few moments; she looked as if she wanted to find a hole to hide in from embarrassment, obviously believing that she had gone too far.

"T-thank you, Iris, you and Snowflake have a good night," he said finally.

"You to," she replied almost too quiet for him to hear.

He walked to the door of the bunkroom and glanced back to see her talking quietly to the bird. "Summer's right, I am too nosey," she said petting the little owl's crown feathers.

Albus smiled to himself.

_Summer's not right about everything._

**---**

The next day was Saturday.

Even though Albus slept very little the night before, he awoke the same time as Scorpius.

His friend had his legs over the side and the dressings thrown back, he was staring at the Skybolt with longing eyes.

"You'll get to fly her again, don't worry," Albus reminded him.

Scorpius nodded, but then added, "I don't know if I should, I was being really stupid with it."

Albus thought about keeping something to himself, but opted to tell his friend anyway. "If you hadn't hit Dom, I'm fairly sure you might have made the loop."

Scorpius looked thoughtful at that confession, and then he shook it off. "It doesn't matter, they were being fair when they took my broom, and it was reckless to even try."

Albus playfully held up two hands. "Let's see, he's a Malfoy, but he's talking about stuff like responsibility, and is admitting to a mistake, nothing suspicious here."

Scorpius shot him a glare, ruined by the little smile.

They dressed and made their way to the Great Hall, the spelled ceiling showing an overcast sky, Scorpius had his broom with him to give to Professor Longbottom. Rose, dishevelled and beastly, had already sent an unwary first-year away sniffling and tearful.

"Hullo, Rose. My, my you are looking lovely this morning; did you do something with your hair?" Scorpius quipped as he and Albus settled in.

"So we are finally good enough to have breakfast with, Malboy? What's tha matter, your cheering section taking a powder?" she hissed back in her most vicious tone.

"All but you, sweetheart," Scorpius returned.

"So you are evil, and delusional," she shot back with a snort.

The argument was heartfelt and heated the first real quarrel they had instigated that year. Albus barely concealed a smile.

They launched into breakfast, Albus ordered Potato cakes, and suddenly he realized that James was walking to their table with a smile promising bad things.

"Hey, Death Eater brat, you are still flying, right? I want to show Hogwarts just how lucky you were last year."

Albus and Scorpius exchanged a look, how much should they tell a person on a rival team, Quidditch protocol dictated that no information about a possible line-up change be passed, but then again, Rose was never much for Quidditch.

"They suspended Scorpius, for one game, Albus is flying, now you know, go away," she said with a growl.

James stood there stunned. "They can't do that. I don't want to humiliate my little brother in front of the whole school, how that would make me look?"

Albus felt a sudden surge of anger. "Rose is right; this isn't Gryffindor's table, go."

James seemed to collect himself. "Just make sure you don't whine about it to mum, when I beat you I don't want to hear it from her!"

"You won't, leave...now," Albus informed with his darkest glare.

James stalked off, Albus had no doubt that the news would travel fast from there on out.

The Owls began their flurry shortly thereafter.

Saturday morning was always a big Owl day, but this morning the flock was particularly huge. In those numbers, Albus could see his Owl Nox and his large wingspan, Loki, who was bumping other birds mischievously, Celestina's trademark shriek showed she was among them; there was even a flash of white as Roarke made his way through the descending birds, swooping on his way to James.

"What is going on here," Rose inquired as the humming of conversation increased dramatically.

Albus glanced up as he sent Nox off with a toast corner and a pat goodmorning, pocketing the letter for later. _He had a hunch he knew what it was about!_

Celestina dropped a paper in front of Rose and made herself scarce not wanting to be a victim of her master's evil morning ways.

It was a copy of _The Dailey Prophet_, and there was a large picture in the front.

"Oh!" Rose remarked her voice tinged with shock. "This can't be right!"

She slipped the paper close to Scorpius and Albus read over his shoulder.

**High-Flying Show-off Injures Fellow Student**

**By. Nita Skeeter**

**It appears that all the accolades that he and his family have received have gone to Scorpius Malfoy's head.**

**Late last evening, against the advice of a group of onlookers, Malfoy attempted one of the most dangerous manoeuvres ever recorded on a broom, the lethal Krum Coaster. Showing a blatant disregard for the safety of others, the young Malfoy collided with a member of the Weasley clan, and one of the Chasers from the rival Gryffindor Quidditch team, Dominique Weasley. It was lucky that no one was killed.**

**Miss Weasley has responded to treatment and at this time appears no worse for wear, but what concerns this reporter is as soon as Mister Malfoy is allowed back on a broom, will this reckless behaviour continue?**

**I just hope the next time I report his shenanigans it is not to inform of a greater tragedy.**

The accompanying picture was of the accident, which did not place Scorpius in the best of lights.

Rose snarled and reached into her robes for her wand, she began to rise and head to where Scorpius's formerfan club was seated looking rather snug.

Scorpius grabbed a handful of robes and pulled her back down.

"They set you up," she hissed, "I have a few curses I've been dying to try out!"

Scorpius chuckled. "Don't get into more trouble on my account, besides I deserve some bad press after how I've been behaving. Maybe it's for the best."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, you've been a right git, but you trusted them and they turned on you the moment they had a chance, for that, they deserve to walk around with antlers the rest of the day!"

Scorpius and Albus exchanged a look. "Antlers?"

Rose smirked. "Mum and Dad got into it; he wound up walking around with twelve points for a few hours before she reversed it."

Albus sniggered imagining his Uncle Ron's reaction, Scorpius, who had met the man had his face down on his arms, his shoulders shaking with restrained laughter.

"What?" Rose demanded red-faced.

There was another outburst of murmurings, they looked up and saw that elderly owl dipping and weaving it's way to the table, in its claws was a bright red Howler.

"Rose!" Albus called as she fished her wand back out of her robes, barely getting the _Muffliato _cast before it began the magically enhanced berating of Scorpius.

Albus was not sure, but it looked like Scorpius was more at peace at that moment than he had been for the entire year.

What did it say about his friend's character that he felt more comfortable with ire and venom than with praise?

Scorpius emerged from behind the spell with an explosion of red paper and smoke. He fed some toast to the worn out old owl who was still panting on the table.

"Grandfather says hello," he remarked as if he had just received an ordinary letter from home.

Rose tried to restrain her curiosity, but failed. "Oh?" she inquired.

Scorpius nodded. "Yes, evidently if I keep bringing shame to the name of Malfoy, he's going to disown me."

Albus turned and gave his friend a wink. "That's the nicest thing I've ever heard your grandfather say to you."

"He has mellowed a bit, hasn't he," Scorpius agreed with a smile.

"Aunt Andy has been disowned by the Malfoys for ages, she still says it's the best thing that ever happened to her," Rose insisted attempting to be encouraging.

They all three glanced at each other, not a word was passed but that old "us against the world" feeling snapped back into place. Albus suddenly felt like anything was possible again.

He looked across the table at Ivy, who was listening to Summer natter on about her latest fashion choices. Their eyes met and he knew that she had been paying attention to the three across, than to her friend. She looked like she was extraordinarily happy about something, he had a hunch it was not Summer's hairdo.

* * *

**Thought of the Day:** All throughout history man has been subject to failure, but they have pulled themselves up, persevered and risen to the challenge. However, more great men and women have been destroyed by success than failure. Here is the short list.

Alexander the Great: Conquered most of the known world at a tender age, literally drank himself to death in despair.

Howard Hughes: Succeeded at nearly everything he ever touched, world renown for his genius. Died in a vacuum sealed room terrified of disease with finger nails he had not trimmed in seven years!

Every Rock Star you've ever heard of: Micheal Jackson, Elvis Presley, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley, Karen Carpenter, Keith Moon, John Bonham....etc...

Ernest Hemingway: World renown author and adventurer, had written books considered classics while he was still alive, ate a shotgun barrel in a deep depression.

I could go on...you know I could...

What is it about the human condition that seems to require that we have something to strive for, to accomplish, to overcome? We spend our entire lives trying to get over the hill, what happens if we crest that hill and find that the world is at our feet? Maybe a challenge is a good thing?

**Bart**


	12. Chapter 12 Too Many Advisors

**Chapter Notes:** No excuses or explanations to give. I know I've been gone from this fic and I have been posting other fictions in the mean time, but I have no answers for you. Just this chapter. I hope you find it worth the wait and fingers crossed you won't have to wait so long for the next one.

Incidentally there was a twist in this one that I did not see coming and I am glad I waited, because it was not in my first draft. I think you'll find it satisfactory.

I do ask that fans of this story not stalk my other stories asking why I am continuing writing when I am not updating this one. I am a writer...so I write...when one story or genre is not speaking to me another one is, I am not going to halt what I enjoy doing because one of my projects is not thriving at the moment. I appreciate having fans but how I manage to spend my limited time is my business. If you want to read my other works please evaluate them for what they are...not for what they are not.

Once again thankyou for your continued support.

**Bart**

All characters belong to JK Rowling not me.

**Read and review if you liked it.**

* * *

**Albus Potter and the Black Badger Society**

**Chapter 12: Too Many Advisors...**

Albus sat in the locker room, there was a speech going on but he wasn't really listening.

The cheers were loud outside, but he was not hearing them either.

In spite of the potion that Madam Pomfrey gave him earlier his stomach felt as if it were trying to crawl out through his belly button. He had vomited twice that morning, and even the toast he had nibbled was trying to come up.

He knew he was pale. Nearly Headless Nick had complimented him on his pallor as Rose and Scorpius walked with him across the Great Hall, and he had to wipe his palms on his robes several times before he put on the gloves that Scorpius gave to him for good luck.

He made sure he nodded in the appropriate spots as Diana gave her most impassioned speech yet. She was ranting about how they were still the underdogs, how it was Hufflepuff against the rest of the school and they could only succeed by being loyal and hardworking Badgers.

Albus thought back to the past few months that brought him to this moment...

---

That morning, after a quick swing by the arboretum to drop off Scorpius's broom, they decided to spend some time on the grounds, the day was nice but impending winter was in the air, so how many more days they could expect to enjoy outdoors was on the wane.

As they made their way through the halls of Hogwarts, Albus, Rose and Scorpius ignored the looks of disgust that he was receiving, it all felt like old hat.

"You know, having felt adored enough to compare it to being reviled, I think I prefer revulsion," Scorpius murmured after a scathing look from a group of older Ravenclaws.

"No wonder you like hanging around me then," Rose replied in a syrupy voice.

Scorpius smirked in an infuriating manner. "I like hanging with Albus, you just happen to be the luggage that follows him everywhere."

"Luggage?" Rose replied in a shrill voice.

"Yeah, that's what you call an old bag, right?' Scorpius replied waggling his eyebrows.

Albus rolled his eyes as they began trading insults, since both were extremely well read, things got quite creative before they passed the winged boar gates.

"Let's go see how Hagrid is doing with the hedge rows," Albus interrupted as things had deteriorated to, "library bound future spinster, to Moldy-Shorts the Dork Lord."

They paused just long enough to agree and they made their way to the alabaster tomb of Albus Dumbledore, and just beyond to the Defenders of Hogwarts Obelisk. The hedge rows of the new memorial garden were coming along quite nicely.

The hulking familiar giant that was moving a marble pedestal with ridiculous ease glanced up when he heard the near distant squabbling, his dark eyes glittering with good humour and mirth.

"Hey there Alby, Rosie, Scorpius, doin ahright? 'Bout time you got down to a visit."

"Alright there, Hagrid?" Albus called, he grimaced a bit when he got a cavernous one-armed hug that plunged him into the darkness of Hagrid's voluminous coat, and the rather strange wiggling sensation that was emanating from his right coat pocket. Albus had long since decided to never inquire of the contents of Hagrid's pockets after the inadvertent release of a baby wyvern in halls of Blackbriar Manor that had cost his aunt and uncle a fortune and redecoration of nearly an entire wing.

Scorpius and Rose received their enveloping hugs in quick succession, Albus noticed that the half-giant still had the marble pedestal under his arm, something that must have weighed nearly a ton.

"How's the garden coming?" he asked in a manner he hoped conversational.

Hagrid's face lit up in a smile. "The rows are growin's well as can be expected, since I can't acquire any dragon dung."

"Why not?" Rose asked her face showing her confusion.

Hargrid shrugged. "Probation."

They all three exchanged a look and with a mutual shrug agreed to pass on the follow up question to that statement.

"Heard you're flyin against James, Alby," Hagrid stated in an offhand manner. The man was an amazingly resourceful gossip, but Albus was still amazed he found out that fast.

"Who told you?"

Hagrid winked. "I've got me sources, yer not gonna pry it out of me this time."

Rose and Albus exchanged a glance and a smirk. "That's alright, Hagrid, we know you won't tell us," Rose stated with a shrug.

"Absolutely not, his lips are sealed," Albus replied, "even though I thought only the Professors and my Quidditch team knew, so can't help but wonder at the source."

Hagrid's lips were screwed tight and his face red from effort.

"Of course Hagrid can be counted on to keep a secret!" Rose needled.

"I'd trust him to keep mum..."Albus begain.

"Fat Friar mentioned it ta me," Hagrid blurted with an explosion of pent up air.

Albus and Rose sniggered as Scorpius looked on in amusement.

Hagrid looked upset at himself. "I tole him I wouldn't tell nobody, 'preciate if you kept that under yer hat?"

Albus and Rose solemnly swore crossing their hearts twisting a lock in their lips and tossing the key, it was an inside the family gesture that made Hagrid smile.

"Anyways Alby, come by in a cuppala days, got somethin' ter give ya," he said glancing around as if he was imparting a valuable secret.

"Why, what is it?" Albus inquired seeing if he could wheedle more information.

Hagrid held up a finger. "You'll see, got some work ta do, see ya then."

They said their good bye and walked off to wander the grounds some more.

---

To Albus's delight, his friend's good nature lasted, if one could call constant bitter asides and barbs affection that is. There were days he wished they'd go back to being angry at each other just so he could be conflict free for a few minutes.

He tried to forget about his impeding match up with James, but his brother made it difficult. The bad thing about being on the opposite sides of a conflict with a relative is that they knew all your hang-ups and vulnerabilities. Since it was Albus there were a lot of them to exploit.

Albus had a fear of exposure and was one of the most modest blokes around. So when a well timed dissolution charm was cast on his robes as he entered the Great Hall, the resulting terror of having his clothing puddle around his feet in the middle of a class change caused him to hyperventilate.

His cousin Fred saw him and picked him up and ran him to the Medical Wing for a calming draught but that did nothing to alleviate the sheer embarrassment of being carried through the crowded halls in your knickers.

Long after he was well enough to leave, Albus feigned illness and stayed in bed. He just could not bear the thought of venturing out. Rose and Scorpius sat with him quietly bickering, it was almost soothing.

He was heartened somewhat when the doors flew open and James was levitated in upside down with his robes hanging, revealing most of what there was to see of his under clothing. Fred and Dom were handling the honours with Roxy and the twins following close behind.

"Lemme down! Are you mental! I had nothing to do with it!" James bellowed.

Fred shook his head. "Apologise to Albus, and tell him that there will be no more pranks before the match, or we are going to take a stroll down to the Slytherin dungeons and leave you there until the charm wears off!"

James crossed his arms angrily even upside down Albus could see that jaw clench that told him that his brother was not going to give in. "You wouldn't."

"Hey Fred...Molly and I want to take a stroll," Lucy called.

"Slytherin dungeons are nice this time of year," Molly remarked with a grin.

Fred smiled his _time_ _for some serious mischief_ grin. "Would you like an escort?"

"Apologise, James," Dominique demanded.

James sighed. "I James Sirius Potter do solemnly swear to you, Al-baby Save-us Potter, that I will not play any pranks on you before the upcoming match."

"And I will not constrain others to do my dirty work, and will accept the consequences if someone else takes it upon themselves to pull a prank in my stead without my instigation," Roxy encouraged.

James glowered at her upside down showing that he was indeed planning to use that loop hole. "What she said," he grumbled.

Fred nodded to Dom and they ceremoniously dropped James, he landed in a heap sat up settling his robes back into place glowered at his cousins. "I don't see what the problem is," he grumbled as he rubbed his head.

"The problem is that we are Gryffindors, we protect the weak we do not prey on them! Have you forgotten what it means?" Dom bellowed.

James's ears went red.

"I don't care if Albus is a Hufflepuff and on the opposing team, outside of the pitch he's family," Fred informed his cousin as he offered a hand up.

"This goes beyond just House rivalry," Rose chimed in on her feet and closing on her cousin with a dangerous purpose. "You've been picking on him his entire life, why can't you leave him alone you big bully!"

"Why doesn't he make me leave him alone!" James yelled back, "you all seem to think he's supposed to be the damned chosen one, and he won't even protect himself."

The argument began in earnest with the other cousins joining in.

Scorpius was watching the entire exchange with interest. "Blimey, I thought my family were hostile, they do know you're sitting here listening, right?" he murmured to Albus.

Albus sighed and pulled the covers over his head.

---

James was true to his vow and as the weeks passed there were no further attacks, even so, James would occasionally help out his brother with "pointers."

Albus was finishing up dinner and planning a trip down to the pitch and James sidled up. He inspected Albus's broom that he had brought along.

Rose watched him approach with eyes flashing with warning. Scorpius just looked amused.

"A Nimbus Millennium, a very solid broom, little brother, it has nowhere near the climbing rate, straight line speed, and can't come close to a SkyBolt in a dive, but it's a very solid broom, I'm almost worried."

James smiled patted his brother companionably on the back and strolled out whistling a _Hexus Brother's_ tune.

"That jerk is really starting to steam my gurdy-roots," Rose grumbled fingering her wand.

"Well he didn't say anything that wasn't right, except for the whole climbing bit," Scorpius remarked spearing a fried potato.

Rose was about to round on him, which he was probably inviting, but Albus interrupted her with a question. "What do you mean, whole climbing bit?" Albus inquired.

Scorpius shrugged. "I've flown both, the Nimbus is not a pure speed broom like the SkyBolt, it was built to be solid for all purposes, but because of that it has sturdier flight characteristics, in the short run a SkyBolt will just about outrun anything, but as the climb gets longer it will grow unstable, and the Nimbus will catch up because it can hold the line longer."

Albus smiled. Rose and Scorpius exchanged a glance. "He's planning something," Rose said with a grin. "This is going to be good," Scorpius confirmed.

Cormac and Gas both slid down to get closer. "Albus has that look, what's going on?" Gas requested as he and Cormac sidled up.

Albus watched his brother as he departed. "I think there might be some light at the end of this tunnel."

"As long as it's na somethin' big and oncoming," Cormac added punctuating the point with his fork.

"Not helping!" Rose hissed.

---

The Quidditch tryouts came and went, the Ravenclaws had to replace Seeker, a Beater and one of the Chasers, and it looked as if they would not be as strong this upcoming year. Gryffindors held pat of course, and looked to dominate and avenge last season's upset.

However, it was the Slytherins that showed the most promise.

Paige Hawkins had free reign as the Team Captain and she used it to choose the best Slytherin had to offer. The days of cronies and blood lines were gone and in their place was a dangerous squad.

As Diana had made mention, Paige chose two other girls to be Chaser, they all had bushy hair like she did and were both wild looking, The Furies, was a good nickname indeed. Diana, Corny and Albus stayed after a practice with a disconsolate Scorpius and watched the snakes practice.

The Chaser assault was coordinated and deadly, but the large girl up in Keeper was doing a solid job, she turned out to be Maya Goyle, and like Scorpius mentioned she was far more intelligent than she looked.

The Beaters were a contrast. Aiden Gallo was a holdover from the year before, he was tall dark and slender with whip like arms, long fingered hands that caress a beater bat lovingly, however his partner turned out to be Cameron Zabala, big and thuggish and one of Kian's henchmen.

"I can't believe that Paige chose Cameron," Albus grumbled, "I mean that troll barely has the brain cells to maintain his breathing."

"Probably a suggestion from her new Seeker," Scorpius replied glumly pointing to the sky.

Albus followed the gesture and saw Kian Kerry swooping around on an emerald green SkyBolt, and worse, he was good.

Scorpius grimaced. "I guess all that money buys the best instructors, not an ounce of natural talent, but you can purchase competence if you're determined."

Albus sighed. "Not good."

---

Hufflepuff tryouts came and Albus and Scorpius watched from the stands as the reserve Chasers all lined up and took runs at the perspective Keepers.

At first the results were dismal.

The Keepers could not prevent a score, but they did not have to since the Chasers could not get the Quaffle through the hoop!

However, when Icky Crowe stepped in front of the rings, the scoring came to a stop for the most part, while he was not in Roderick's class, he showed eagerness and desire which made up for some shortcomings.

When the Keeper change was due, Diana left Icky on the broom. Albus waved at the slender boy and received a salute in response.

"He's pretty good, probably the best we're going to find, but we still need a Chaser and that crop's not going to measure up," Scorpius responded.

Suddenly, there was a launch from the ground and a flash of Auburn hair as someone flew up to join the perspective Chasers.

Diana had an excited look on her face as she blew the whistle.

The bushy-haired girl took the Quaffle and after a nasty juke, scored on the left ring with a back handed flip.

Scorpius leapt to his feet, "Did you see that? Molly or Lucy Weasley couldn't do better!" He shouted at Albus, not noticing the shocked look on his friend's face.

"That's because they trained her," Albus managed after a minute of gaping at the distant flyer nearly obscured by the sunlight.

"That's it, tryout's closed," Diana called.

To their credit the other perspective players had no protest.

Scorpius yanked Albus to his feet tugging him in the direction of the new Chaser who landed and talked to Diana with her back turned to them.

He drew up short when she turned around smiling that particular nasty way she had just for his benefit.

"Rose?" Scorpius sputtered.

She waggled her fingers.

"Did I forget to mention, that before she decided she hated Quidditch, Rose was rather decent at it?" Albus mentioned in a conspirator's tone.

"Not good," Scorpius mumbled.

---

They saw the exact moment when James received the news the next morning.

Dominique waited until he had a forkful of banger in his mouth before she leaned in and murmured. Rose tugged Albus's sleeve to watch as his brother swallowed the wrong way and received particularly brutal backslaps from Fred to dislodge the blockage.

Coughing and red faced he glowered at his cousin over at the Hufflepuff table.

Rose chuckled evilly. "That makes this all worth it."

"You're just playing Quidditch to rankle James?" Scorpius demanded his voice tinged with his outrage.

Rose shrugged. "I hate Quidditch, but fortunately for you blokes, I hate James worse."

"That is defaming the very purpose for playing Quidditch in the first place!" he growled.

She got that nasty glint in her eye and Albus nearly reached across to shut her mouth but he was too late. "Oh so Quidditch should be played so our daddies will love us for our successes, instead of unconditionally for who we are, like they're supposed to?"

Scorpius shoved back from the table and left in a swirl of robes his face red to his hair line.

Albus smacked his forehead against the table in frustration.

Rose sighed. "You know he can be such a sensitive bloke sometimes?"

Albus rubbing a newly bruised spot on his forehead exchanged an exasperated glance with Ivy across the table.

---

In the coming weeks as the air got cooler and the days shorter the Hufflepuff Quidditch team began to show promise, Albus and Scorpius worked on his flying and pursuit, but there was only so much his friend could help from the ground.

As it happened, Albus did have some natural skill, not on his brother's level, but he was able to grab the Snitch at a high percentage. Diana did comment on the strange training method he was implementing.

"Why are you trying to fly straight up, Albus, I doubt you will need that skill during the match?"

Albus shrugged. "Oh I don't know, stranger things have happened."

She crossed her arms and glowered at him. "This had better be about winning the match, because if it turns into you trying to show up your brother we'll lose."

"That's the furthest thing from my mind," Albus responded sincerely.

She did not look like she believed him entirely, but she nodded and blew the whistle for a break.

---

Professor Bast was pleased that Rose was joining the team, even if it was a temporary measure, and she hummed a merry tune as she set about the lesson. Her belief in Hufflepuff's prospects for retaining the cup renewed.

There were all sorts of attempts at giving advice in the intervening days. One particularly alarming letter arrived for Albus on a Saturday.

-

_Dear Albus,_

_ Mum sent me a letter letting me know about your upcoming match. She's appalled that you are going to be flying the most dangerous position on the pitch, but I know you can do it._

_ If you'd like, I have some time saved and I can leave and meet you at the Dragon Pavilion for lessons. Like I did last year._

_ Sincerely,_

_Uncle Charlie_

-

Albus was so alarmed that he shot up out of his seat and bellowed, "No!"

He suddenly became aware of the eyes on him, and he smiled sheepishly and scribbled a hasty reply, literally running up to the Owlery to send Nox to Romania.

He received notes from his dad as well as his Uncle Ron. The latter crowing that his daughter was finally joining the family tradition. Rose rolled her eyes at that.

Scorpius just scowled at her, still holding a grudge for her earlier harsh words to him.

They still bickered but Scorpius's heart just was not in it.

Albus agreed she owed him an apology. However, when he mentioned to her that fact she asked, "Did I say anything that wasn't true, I'll apologise if I did."

Albus walked off angry that she had once again missed the point.

-

He got a valuable piece of advice from Professor Cody.

Orion sidled up to Albus during a session on stunning spells. Albus was still woozy from Blaise Zabini's hit in the back. Orion, instead of taking points off from Slytherin actually complimented the boy on initiative, then blew him back across the room on to some pillows with his own stunner, then took six points from Slytherin for him not preparing for retaliation.

"Are you with us, Mister Potter?" he inquired as he helped Albus to his feet.

"Y...yes I think so," Albus responded.

"Incidentally, if you are facing an opponent who has the overwhelming advantage, you might want to peruse chapter eleven in my book again," Orion mentioned as he turned back to the class.

"While I admire Mister Zabini's enthusiasm, I feel as your instructor I have to provide a safe learning environment..."

"What, no more Grindylows turned loose?" Kian Kerry shot back to the amused chuckles of his henchmen.

Orion laughed right along with him, and then his face went cold as the first winter winds outside. "Oh I don't know, Mister Kerry, I have all sorts of critters to sort for students in detention, could be a Grindylow or two in the bunch."

Kian gulped audibly.

Orion smiled. "So I will have to insist that everyone play by the rules and show proper decorum at all times.

With a lit staff crystal and a wave of his hand a dazed Brian was able to set up.

"Now, back to the rings and let's go again." Orion instructed.

Albus took his advice once he got back to the Cellar that night. He took the book and settled in by the fireplace.

_-_

_**Facing Overwhelming Odds...**_

_The secret to facing overwhelming odds is to not be overwhelmed._

_This sounds like oversimplification but there is a sound principle behind it._

_The very nature of being overwhelmed is that the opponent is intimidated, terrified, insentient, all cognitive processes bog down...they began to react rather than act ensuring that they cannot give a proper accounting for themselves._

_When you refused to be overwhelmed or intimidated, when you choose to think, to plan and to strategize...as you decide that you will give a defence and that you will make an accounting for yourself something far different happens._

_Yes history is rife with battles where one side had no chance and faced overwhelming odds but fought anyway and died down to the last man, far fewer than those where against all odds the smaller force succeeded. However, their stories have become something greater than the sum of their lives, they became legend._

_In a way, a person should almost be thankful for facing the impossible, because you will never get the full measurement of yourself until you face no-way-out, while you might not survive it, you will know who you are to a far greater extent than someone who dies quietly in their sleep unremarked of old age._

_(Author Note:__There are many battles that I could recount to illustrate this principle; however, I think Mad-Eye's words stand fast on their own. I will make a small adjustment to those who are facing one on one situations with a opponent far greater equipped who has every advantage. Not being intimidated is key, yes, but so is also realizing that if the opponent has no fear of you then they are overconfident and if they have too much fear for you then they don't know your exact extent. Both of those are tools, advantages that you can bring to bear on the situation at hand. In short you are never...NEVER disadvantaged to the point that victory is impossible. _

_Orion)_

_-_

Even with those words, and his possible strategy Albus was still feeling overwhelmed by the task.

Suddenly he got a surprise visitor during breakfast, days before the first match.

He was picking at his food when everything went dark.

He realized it was a shadow.

"Here ya go, Alby, I hope it helps yer," Hagrid called down as he dropped a large photo album on the table top loud enough to draw every eye not already focused on the half giant looming over the Hufflepuffs.

"I jes though...erm...you might want ter see yer dad in action, I gave James one o' these Christmas before he became Seeker," Hagrid explained with a bright happy smile.

"Thanks Hagrid!" Albus said as he Hagrid the biggest hug he could manage.

"Got some matters ta attend ta. See ya Rose, see ya Scorp," he replied walking off before they could see his misty eyes.

"Scorp?" Rose needled.

Scorpius shrugged. "Now that I can't fly I take walks, as it happens a lot of them are by Hagrid's cabin."

"Why didn't you say something, I could have tagged along," Rose demanded.

Albus headed off the impending argument by opening the album.

They all gathered around, Gas and Cormac slid down as well as Ivy and Summer.

The pictures were of his Dad, and some older ones of Uncle Charlie. The sheer enjoyment of flying and how free he looked cut into Albus's heart.

These were the days before the prophecy was known, the moment in time when Harry Potter was still the boy from under the cupboard finding that he had a place in the world after all. All abuses forgotten, all pressures not yet ladled on, Harry was a boy the likes of which Albus had never been.

That was the element that had always been missing from Albus. It seemed like from the moment that Albus had first opened his eyes he had always felt...responsible...he envied that boy that became the saviour of the wizard world the freedom he felt in those first moments.

"Wow, Uncle Harry was kinda cute," Rose remarked.

Scorpius groaned.

"I agree, like father like son," Summer remarked with a grin that made Albus feel strange a moment, but he shook it off.

Summer also crooned over Uncle Charlie with Rose giving commentary, and Scorpius graduating to gagging noises, Albus nearly forgot why he Hagrid gave him the album, then he looked over and saw James watching him, the look in his brother's eyes was one of abject betrayal. James got up and left so quickly that Fred did not even know his cousin was gone until he leaned in to make a comment and found air.

_Why does anyone helping me make James so mad?_

---

Here Albus was about to go out and face his brother. Struggling to keep the toast he managed for breakfast down.

He had a note of encouragement in his robes from his Mum and Dad, Rose was going to be on the Pitch with him, but she was the only family he would have up there, Fred made that clear to him at Breakfast.

-

"You know you're my bloke, Albus, but don't ignore the Bludgers hit your way, because I'm going to try to knock you off the broom, it's my job," he said his eyes apologetic.

Albus nodded that he understood, and watched as his Gryffindor family walked out together.

Rose leaned in. "Battle of the Weasley's place your bets."

Scorpius sighed. "Sorry guys, if I was a betting man they'd get the ticket."

Albus and Rose shot him a look but he shrugged unrepentant.

-

Diana was heading to the door, the rest followed suit, Albus gripped the handle of his broom in Scorpius's gloves.

_ You are never disadvantaged to the point that victory is impossible!_

Albus rolled his eyes. _You've never faced the Weasley/Potters, Orion, ask Voldemort how that turned out for him!_

He saw Rose waiting for him with her nose crinkled in concern. He gave her his best smile and followed her out.

* * *

**Thought of the Day:** Is finding your own way in the world harder when you are surrounded by failure and apathy, or does being surrounded by overachievers make for a harder path to self discovery?


	13. Chapter 13 The Hole in the Orchard

**Chapter Notes:** For those of you that have been waiting patiently for this chapter I have only the chapter itself to give in defence. This is a chapter which will alter the course of the rest of the series so I had to handle it carefully.

There have been events building since I started the books that had to come to fruition, as you will read, events foreshadowed and danced around but never directly referenced. As such I wanted to make sure that everything was as perfect as I could make it. I have a new beta that worked on this chapter with me so hopefully it is more grammatically compliant, if it still has mistakes those are mine not his.

I know you have been waiting for this so I won't say anything more.

This world and all the characters in it belong to JK Rowling and her bank account, I own all the OC's so she can kiss my lilly white derriere if she wants to sue! Na Naaaaaaaa!

**Read and Review if you Like it...If not go ahead and Review Anyway!**

* * *

**Albus Potter and the Black Badger Society**

**Chapter 13: The Hole in the Orchard...**

As they began the walk up the ramp amidst the distant hum of the rollicking Pitch, Albus saw a surprise visitor waiting just inside the tunnel entrance.

"Two minutes," Diana called letting them know that they were soon to be announced.

She nodded to the tall balding wizard as he made his way to Rose and Albus, taking them to the side.

"Can you forgive me if I don't root for you two?" Uncle Percy asked nervously.

"First things first, Uncle Percy. What are you doing here?" Rose demanded, with her usual lack of tact.

He blinked as if the question had not occurred to him before that moment.

"Oh," he exclaimed, "I know this is a little unusual, but there have never been this many members of the same family competing out on the Pitch before. So, when we made the request to attend to the Board of Governors, of which I am a member by the way, they agreed to allow it, just as long as we are not too disruptive."

Rose gulped audibly. "How many of the family were able to make it?"

"All of them, except for the young ones. We didn't want them getting ideas before they come to Hogwarts, so we sent them all off with the Scamanders for the day," Uncle Percy replied, showing his usual obliviousness to the interpersonal."

Rose turned an interesting shade of puce, probably at the thought of flying in front of her dad as Percy turned back to Albus. "So I have to ask, can you two forgive your uncle if he cheers for his daughters? It will be a load off of my mind if you say you will."

"Who's rooting _for_ us anyway? Our whole family is Gryffindor," Albus inquired, drawing Uncle Percy's attention away from Rose, who was looking distinctly ill.

"Well, your Grandfather insisted that he would root for Hufflepuff if your Gram would root for Gryffindor. Ron and Hermione are firmly on Hufflepuff's side. Of course, Harry, your Dad, is too well known a Gryffindor, and James would never forgive him if he didn't stay loyal, but your mum and James have their drama anyway, so she's rooting for Hufflepuff in Harry's stead. Bill is a Gryff, but Fleur has no such affiliation to worry about, so she volunteered to be a 'puff for the day. Besides, she likes wearing black and looks lovely in it. George and Angel are solidly in the red corner, sorry, but your Uncle Charlie flew all the way in from Romania to root for you. He considers you his student, Albus, and that takes precedence in his mind over a House he barely remembers, so he's going Badger for the duration. However, I have three ladies to live with beyond today, and while I feel neutral to the outcome, I want to know that . . . well . . . you won't be hurt if I cheer convincingly?" Percy rattled all this off in his usual busy and precise manner.

Albus felt warmed by his concern. Everyone else would assume that Albus and Rose would not take any personal offense, but his fastidious uncle always planned for every contingency, something he and Uncle Percy had always had in common.

"Don't be mental, Uncle Percy. I hope you placed a bet on Gryffindor; they are a sure thing with James Seeking," Albus informed with a wink.

Percy's lips quirked into a smile. "Oh no, Albus; I learned my lesson last year. No matter how steep the odds, betting against you is never a wise choice," he said with a wink of his own, and glanced at his wrist dial. "Must dash off; good luck you two! Of course...I will have to deny ever having said that."

"Of course," Albus said with a grin.

Percy gave Rose's shoulder a squeeze as he passed up the stairs.

" 'I hope you bet on Gryffindor?' " Rose hissed, breaking out of her lethargy. She gave Albus's arm a punch that nearly took it off at the shoulder.

"Ow! I _need_ that arm," he grumbled.

Her eyes narrowed, "If that prat James grabs the Snitch, you and I will talk later. That's _if,_" she emphasized, "cries of pain count as conversation."

She swept off, broom in hand, as Albus rubbed his shoulder, cursing the day he was ever born into a clan that included Weasley women.

"There's our cue; let's go, Badgers!" Diana called.

The Hufflepuffs strolled out onto the Pitch as the sound rose, and the commentator 's voice caused Albus to groan.

"And here come the lambs for the slaughter this afternoon, wearing black, our cellar dwelling rodents: the Hufflebutts!"

"That's Huffle_puffs,_ Mister Sloan," Professor Flint growled.

"Fine . . . 'Shufflepoofs' . . . and in the red we have the Lions, well...more like ill-bred tabby cats... those crusty, towering, morons: the Gryffindorks!"

"_Dors, _Mister Sloan. Try that again."

"Oh, very well, 'Gitty-dors' it is."

Albus sighed, and thought, _Leon Sloan is the commentator? This is going to be a loooooong match!_ He glanced at the booth over past the ecstatic, rambunctious elves (clearly slanted toward Hufflepuff, all bedecked in yellow and black), and saw the Slytherin Head Boy looking back at him, both sneering and grinning at the same time. _How does he do that,_ Albus wondered. _You'd think he'd sprain a lip muscle or something?_

The day was bright, and the winds were not as cold as Albus had feared. The stands were packed, and he could pick out his large family seated at the dividing line between the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindor student sections. Even in the deafening roar he could hear his Uncle Ron calling, "Go Rosie! That's my little girl down there!"

He was also able to hear Rose grumble, "What a prat! He never cheers like that when I bring home straight O's does he!"

Uncle Charlie was smiling at Albus, his arms crossed in a _wait and see_ posture, and listening with a cocked ear to Uncle George detailing his latest Tri-W item. From the exploding gestures, and from Aunt Angel's scowls at her husband's enthusiasm, it was something dastardly indeed.

His Grandma Weasley was behind Charlie, glaring at his bushy head of hair as if it were offering her a personal affront. Meanwhile, his sweet-natured grandfather at her side on the Hufflepuff side waving a Badger pennant merrily, his bald head covered by his familiar wide-brimmed straw hat.. The sight of him looking so spry made Albus smile in spite of his nerves.

Just above them, sitting with a glum Scorpius, and an over-excited Gaspar being fanned by a wryly smiling Cormac, were Albus's dad and mum, showing they were old hands at ignoring all the whispers that come with mass celebrity. His dad gave him a covert wave as he talked with Scorpius. From the way he mimed spitting out the Snitch, it appeared he was trying to cheer up the pale boy with an account of one of his triumphs on that very ground.

Albus had noticed that his dad had developed a special connection to Scorpius that he did not have with Albus. It might have had something to do with the fact that they both had flown the famous Harry Potter Firebolt to glory. That was a small club with only two members.

Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey were seated with Bill and Fleur. His silver-haired aunt was shining in black robes, all her part-Veela glory on display, not much for Quidditch but making an effort to participate nevertheless.

Even at her age, she was drawing stares from all the boys nearby not busy looking at the glamorous Professor Euryale, who was seated in the faculty booth between an intensely staring Professor Cody and a happily partisan Professor Bast.

"Albus...Ve have a question for you...da?" Violet inquired, sidling up to him. Her pink ribbons waved merrily from her hair, in direct contrast to the dark skull makeup on her face; she looked like a muscular porcelain doll designed to terrify children. Her sister took up position on Albus' other side.

"What do you want to know?" he asked, his voice picking up a tremor. He felt closed in by the intimidating twosome.

"Vee vant to know if you are being...erm...attached...to your brudder; vee vant to know if you vill miss him if sumthin...erm...unforeseen should occur?" she inquired, her tone pensive.

Albus glanced across to the red clad Gryffindors. There, amidst his cousins, was James Sirius Potter, smirking at Albus in a dismissive manner as he strutted his way out to the middle to meet them.

It was time to implement his plan, and Albus felt an unpleasant smile touch his lips, causing his brother's expression to falter.

"If you will help me, I promise you can do anything you want to him and I won't mind...short of permanent damage, of course," he responded.

Violet translated for her sister. Valencia, clad in purple ribbons and wearing a matching skull visage, cuddled her beater bat decorated with skulls for past victims and actually looked disappointed at what sounded like the "no permanent damage" part, until her sister translated Albus' plan as it was related. As schemes went it was a simple one, and by the time they lined up in the middle of the Pitch, Albus had two co-conspirators.

Albus had to swallow an extra time when he glanced across and saw his burly cousin Fred walking towards the centre, caressing his own battered beater bat, glancing at Albus and Rose guiltily.

Albus remembered nearly being knocked off his broom the year before by a Fred-slapped Bludger, so he knew that his cousin was not going to pull back on any strikes . . . but it was no consolation to Albus that Fred was not looking forward to aiming at his cousin. The Bludger was not going to hurt any less.

Fred reached out a hand to Diana, not as if to shake her hand, but as if to let her kiss it as he had kissed hers the year before, only to have it playfully slapped away by Diana in a huff, which made him chuckle.

_You ready to lose, Al-baby?_ James mouthed silently at Albus as Krum walked up with his whistle in hand.

_Say hello to Madam Pomfrey for me,_ Albus mouthed back with his most evil grin. His brother's forehead wrinkled as he glanced at the Violence Sisters, who suddenly seemed to have eyes only for him.

"I vant a clean game...no blood baths...I will penalise all the vay to suspension...I am understood...da?" Krum inquired in his gruff voice. He waited until the sisters nodded, and then gave Fred and Fergus Finnegan special scrutiny until they indicated they had heard him clearly.

These were the two most vicious Beater combos in recent Hogwarts history; Krum's concerns had justification.

"Mount your brooms!" he bellowed as he raised his whistle.

Albus and James stared at one another from a few feet away. It felt like this moment summed up their relationship to this point, causing Albus to wish that circumstances were different.

Out of all the cousins and their extended family, only he and James were openly hostile, but truth be known, it was all on James. Albus was not sure what it was about him that set James off, what he learned from Uncle Neville the year before notwithstanding. His brother always seemed to view Albus as his villain and rival, and today that rivalry was going to be played out as it never had been before, all on a backdrop of Quidditch.

Win or lose, Albus felt in his bones that something was looming, that the lifelong conflict was approaching an unavoidable convergence, and there was nothing he could do about it.

One moment before the whistle blew...Albus realized that his fear was not of James but _for_ James.

The Snitch was released and the Quaffle tossed skyward, and at the sharp pealing sound there was a swirl of red and black robes leading up into the blue above, all except for Albus, who casually kicked off in a more horizontal manner, and began to meander far below, closer to the ground.

"And they're all off, of course, except for All-pus Potty, who seems to have forgotten how to fly upwards. I wonder, has he finally gone completely mental? Or is it just cowardice?"

"Call the game, Mister Sloan. There is no need for speculating about mental states, and watch the nicknames."

"Well, what's he doing down there? He looks even more moronic than usual, as if that were possible!"

"Mister Sloan!"

"Sheesh, Professor, don't blow a beaker! Okay...while _Albus_ Potter seems lost down below, the Gryffindor have taken the initiative and the Quaffle, and are descending upon the hapless and skeletal Huff-and-Puff Keeper...and after a nifty back-handed toss by one of the twins...honestly, it doesn't matter who...one of the spares...they manage to score past one of the spindly arms! Gryffinsnores 10 – Huffletoffs – zip!"

Albus kept his eyes peeled for the Snitch, but with a wry smile he watched as his brother took one near miss after another, until all James could do was hang on to his broom as the Violence Sisters declared open season on him, to the exclusion of everyone else.

It left Icky a bit exposed at Keeper, but with Rose fitting in seamlessly with Diana and Corny, Grayson Wood had his hands full as well.

Fred shot a concerned look down at Albus, obviously realizing that something was up, but then he turned back to his work with a will.

He slapped a particularly hard Bludger at Rose, causing her father down below to begin making a scene, but Uncle Ron needn't have bothered. Rose did a nifty roll and collided with Fred in a nasty sideswipe manoeuvre that nearly knocked him off his broom, bringing the first whistle of the day.

"Blatching, called on Rose Weasley!" Krum called out.

Rose made an appalled face with her hands on her cheeks as the Hufflepuff fans and her father wildly cheered, while an embarrassed Fred climbed back aboard his broom. Then she flew away to the Hufflepuff formation slapping hands with Diana chuckling, her point made.

Lucy took the penalty shot and was stopped by Icky, who looked as surprised as anyone.

The brutal assault on James continued every time a Bludger came within range of a Sister's bat; eventually he began flying lower to avoid them and suddenly, they left him alone.

A smile touched Albus's lips.

Now on the same level, he and his brother began stalking each other. Unlike James, Albus did not bother looking for the Snitch anywhere but up. If it was on the same level as they were, Albus reckoned had no chance at reaching it first. Therefore he only had to watch half the space James was scanning, an advantage Albus was counting on.

The score up above grew as the game wore on; Sloan dutifully calling out the action between insults and corrections from Flint, but Albus tuned all that out as he looked for a golden twinkle in the noonday sun.

"The score is now 50 – 30 in favour of the mighty, crimson Gryffindorks!" Sloan called out with a chuckle.

"Mister Sloan, one more insult and you'll be helping me sort leaky Bubotubers for Tugwood Ointment without gloves this Friday night. Am I clear?" said an obviously fed-up Professor Flint.

"I read you, Professor! Sheesh!"

Suddenly Albus saw the twinkle he was looking for just above the Gryffindor rings. He immediately turned and shot off into the opposite direction and began his climb.

As he anticipated, James followed suit, tracking Albus rather than looking for the Snitch himself.

As Albus began his ascent James overtook him, just like he anticipate so he pulled back on his broom to make the climb more steep, nearly straight up. James was neck and neck with him as they pulled past the Hufflepuff rings. With the crowd roaring their approval, Albus went even higher and James's Skybolt began to fall back. With a half-twist Albus completed the loop right side up, reacquiring the Snitch which was now buzzing along its way, above Grayson, right where he anticipated it would be. He spared no glance back for James but rocketed off in pursuit; he knew as soon as his brother regained momentum, he would have mere moments before his advantage would disappear.

Albus came into range and had just reached out to grab the Snitch, when he glanced back and saw James coming on fast, he saw a look of naked desperation and weariness etched into those familiar features...and Albus fumbled the Snitch.

The next moment James's hand snatched it out of the air, mere inches away from Albus, and the whistle blew to end the match.

They all floated to the ground as Sloane in a bored tone announced, "Well, with the amateur action and rampant incompetence finally over, the end score is Gryffindor 200 and Hufflepuff 80. Fair enough, Professor?"

Suddenly Sloan made an _eep!_ noise, and Albus glanced up to see that with amazing accuracy, Valencia had managed to pop Leon in the head with a Bludger from nearly half way across the Pitch, all while Flint had his back turned packing the stat sheets.

"Close enough," Flint confirmed, not realizing that Sloan was hanging halfway out of the booth drooling, with a dazed look on his face.

Violet and Valencia slapped hands as they descended with Krum pointedly looking away.

Albus was disappointed that he had let his team down, and he knew that Rose was staring daggers at him which meant trouble later, but he was secretly relieved that James had won, hoping that it had earned him some peace for the time being.

He could not have been more wrong.

Albus waved at his family and friends as he headed into the tunnel. Scorpius waved back, with Gaspar rose over his shoulder, somehow taller than he should have been to give Albus a wave. Albus was mystified thinking it was levitation, then he saw Cormac standing beside them with an arm behind Gas, so he could guess that he was casually holding his friend up with one arm so he could see better. _Must be good being part Leprechaun,_ he thought.

He was stretching to see were his dad and mum had gotten off to when suddenly, two hands grabbed the back of his robes and literally lifted him onto his tip toes, frog marching him down the tunnel and into the Hufflepuff locker room shoving him inside, where he dropped his broom as he hit the floor in a heap, he managed to get detangled from his robes as a voice roared, "_Colloportus!_"

There was an ominous squelching sound of a door being sealed.

Soon there were thumps against the backside of the door.

James was standing there breathing heavy, his face red as his robes, with a casual wave of his wand he murmured, "_Muffliato."_

The beating noises and the calls through the door quieted down. "There, now I can have a talk with my little brother," he said conversationally.

He reached in his robes and tossed something to Albus. "You dropped this."

The little golden Snitch grew wings and flew out of Albus's lap, as James closed on him still on the floor and loomed over. "You just couldn't let me win fair and square could you?"

"Y-you caught it, James, I missed my shot and you caught it, you're the Seeker, not me!" Albus stammered trying to back away to get to his feet not liking how vulnerable he felt.

"You had it, Albus, you out thought me, out planned me, and out flew me fair and square and then you looked into my eyes and dropped it," he said in a lower tone.

Suddenly he reached down and yanked Albus to his feet by his robes and slammed him against a locker. "I DON'T WANT YOUR PITY!" James roared.

The badger in Albus had been backed into the corner, it had been bullied for far too long, he felt the fury rising, instead of being frightened by the pure white-hot heat of it, for the first time in his life with James...he embraced it.

James saw something change in his brother's face, his eyes reflected fear just before he was bodily lifted off his feet and propelled across the room in the air to collide with the bank of lockers by a wave of pure force. He landed on the floor in a heap his face twisted in shock.

Albus felt the power coursing through him, he felt tendrils of energy crackle as he lifted his wand not even sure when it had found his hand, and he began advancing across the room, lockers bursting dispelling contents open around him.

"Pity? I never pitied you James, I tried to be your brother, but you wouldn't let me, all I wanted was to be left alone, to be allowed to breathe in peace...in silence, and yet you felt a need to fill my world with noise...and pain!"

Albus hated the flat tone in his voice, the words that he was saying felt ripped from his chest, but that did not stop him from saying what he needed to as he came within inches of his now frightened brother's nose. "This ends today, James, you can keep saying anything you want, but you will never lay another hand on me or, so help me Dumbledore, you will lose that arm by inches!" The tip of his wand dug into James's chin to make his point.

The door popped open and he heard some people hurriedly enter.

"Albus, step away from your brother," he heard his father say.

He was staring into his brother's shocked bright hazel eyes and he said, "Not this time Dad, he needs to know how it feels, he needs to know...that I can hurt him, and I don't want to!"

His mother's voice was terrified as she called out, "Albus, sweetie, calm down now, let James go."

"No, Mum! Not this time!" he shouted, he was trembling with barely held in rage and he felt hot tears on his cheeks, he was not about to stop, it felt too good, it felt right.

Orion's voice was low as he asked, "You want me to stun him, Harry? I can do it without hitting James."

Suddenly there was a voice that cut right through the red, the rage that had taken over his body; it was not one he expected to hear at that point.

"Mis-ter Pot-ter! That will be six points from Gryffindor, and six points from Hufflepuff for fighting and both of you will be spending Friday night with me, if you do not calm down, we will make twelve points from Hufflepuff and detention every Friday this month, am I making myself clear?" commanded Professor Flint in an authoritarian voice.

The shock of being in trouble with the Potions Master broke through the rage. Suddenly, Albus could think and he came to himself with a start.

"Yes, Professor Flint," he replied in a shamed tone as he lowered his wand and backed away from his brother, James nodded that he had heard as well, but his wide eyes never left Albus.

"Very well, gentlemen I think it's time you and your parents talked, I will make sure you have the privacy you need," Flint informed, "Do you require Professor Longbottom or Shacklebolt's presence, Harry?"

"Just send in Neville, Arcturus, and thank you for intervening," Harry replied his voice thick with gratitude. Flint walked to the door and held it open for Orion, indicating for him to go first, the American exchanged a look with Albus's dad before walking through, silence fell as the door shut behind them.

Albus sat down on a bench, the wave of guilt and fatigue that hit him was nearly overwhelming, he suddenly felt a need to lie down so he rolled onto his side on the bench.

His mum came over and sat by his head smoothing his hair with gentle care.

With a knock Neville came through the door. "Did it finally happen? Is James alright?"

The lack of surprise in everyone's voice let Albus know that his and James' fight had not been unanticipated.

_Why didn't you do something sooner, Dad? I could have hurt James._ He asked himself studying his father's face.

"James is fine, Flint was able to talk Albus down before there was any permanent damage," Albus's dad said in a tired voice more weary than Albus had ever heard before.

"Tell them, Harry. It's time, I'm not making a request," his mum said in a dangerous tone.

"I agree with Ginny, it's time," agreed Uncle Neville.

His dad let out a reluctant sigh. "I wanted them to have as normal a childhood as possible."

"He fought a dark wizard last year, he has a self-aware Chimera scale wand, from the state of this room, he nearly levelled the place, I would say...that ship has sailed for distant ports," Neville replied with a chuckle.

"My two babies just tried to kill each other, Harry, it's not getting better, it's getting worse, we need to do this...now," his mum added stroking the hair from Albus's forehead.

Albus's father, the great Harry Potter, seemed to have aged a decade since Albus first saw him in the stands that day.

"Very well, you're right, it's time," he whispered as he reached in his robes, he pulled out a strange looking purse, he must have had one of Aunt Hermione's enlargement spells on it because he pulled out what looked to be a flat sided bowl with runes carved into the ivory rim, he produced a glowing vial and poured a bright silvery substance into it.

"Boys, this is Professor Dumbledore's pensieve. It's what he used to use to show me memories. What I just put in it are your Uncle Charlie's recollections about the day of the broom accident; you both need to see this."

Albus's mum encouraged Albus to set up and nudged him to walk over; James was still eyeing him warily as Albus approached he and his father wiping his eyes on his robe sleeve.

James went first immersing his face in the surface of the bowl, it was mere moments later when he backed away, he was extremely pale and the look he gave Albus a strange one that Albus could not read.

Albus felt trepidation but with an encouraging nod from his father, he followed suit and felt an odd falling sensation.

**~o0o~**

Suddenly he was in the air on a broom behind a red-headed man...from the fang earring he knew it was his Uncle Charlie frantically searching the ground below, every now and again he would shout, "Albus, where are ya boy?"

Albus recognized that they were flying over the orchard near the Burrow, for some reason he felt a prickling sensation as if he knew what was coming, he heard his Uncle Charlie's breath catch as he spied something below and pulled into a dive.

Showing the skill that had made him one of the all-time Seeker's at Hogwarts, he threaded the needle between the trees missing branches by mere millimetres, suddenly he burst into a clearing, but it wasn't a natural one, every tree including blades of grass below had been nearly knocked flat, but sparkled in the morning sun in a strangely beautiful manner.

In the centre of the nearly six metre radius of destruction, was a broken and bleeding little boy crumpled on the ground beside the splintered remains of a broom moaning, Albus looked down at his own six year old face, his familiar green eyes shocked and staring into space.

The grass crunched under Uncle Charlie's feet as he carefully bundled Albus against his chest, with a start Albus realized that the crunching noise was due to the grass under his feet was turned into pure glass.

**~o0o~**

With a gasp he was back in the locker room, he backed away and stared into his father's sad eyes.

"What happened to those trees and the grass?"

Neville answered for his father. "That, my dear Albus, was the scene of a very powerful wizard's magic coming online for the first time; we have disillusionment charms all around that place, so you cannot find it unless you know where it is already, because that patch of earth was altered permanently."

"I killed all those trees?" Albus inquired feeling appalled.

Neville smiled. "As a matter of fact, you did not, they still grow like trees should, and they produce a crystalline fruit which your Uncle sells as glass sculptures at Tri-W, but how the Transformation was accomplished, I have no idea, several of the plants are now in the arboretum for further study.

"I know where they are! I've passed them lots of times!" Albus said with excitement in his voice.

Neville confirmed his theory with a smile and nod.

"I never had a chance, did I?"James sat nearby with his mum's arm around his shoulders hugging him close for the first time in years.

"Chance at what, son?" Albus's dad asked slipping in beside his eldest boy.

"To be the next Harry Potter," James finished his voice choked with sadness.

His dad chuckled. "You being the next 'Harry Potter' is definitely within your reach, I suppose. But I really I _would_ prefer you be the first James Sirius."

James gaped at his father, "But what about Albus?"

"Albus might very well be the next Albus Dumbledore, James, that is another level entirely," Neville stated with a chuckle, "there might be one Wizard every second generation capable of what this boy can do," he remarked ruffling Albus's hair to his chagrin and immediate attempt to slick back down.

Ginny gently turned James's face towards her own. "You need to stop competing with your brother; he's got more on his shoulders than he can handle already. You're special, Jamie, and have things you can do that Albus can never have because of the responsibilities that are his alone, he needs you to be his brother, because you can't be his rival. Right now... we're hoping he doesn't have any."

James and Albus's eyes met no words were passed but a new agreement was reached in the silence.

James cracked that old cocksure grin. "You're still a scrawny, whiny cry baby git, but I suppose I can leave you alone, for now."

"That's my boy," his mum said sarcastically with a weary sigh.

Albus stuck out his tongue at his brother in a sophisticated retort for a twelve year old.

He turned to his father. "Can I tell Rose and Scorpius?"

His dad smirked and walked to the door, holding a finger to his lips.

He pulled out his trusty Phoenix feather wand and murmured _Sonorus _pointing at his hands. Then he replaced his wand in his robes and brought his hands together in a thunderous clap.

"Oi! My ears!" complained his Uncle Ron from behind the door.

With an eye roll his dad said, "Don't worry, you already have."

**~o0o~**

The next few hours were a whirlwind of activity.

Albus and James changed out of their Quidditch robes and had a brief little meeting with their relatives, before they all flooed out in Shacklebolt's office, he got a scratchy chin rubbing hug from his Grandfather, and was fussed over by his Gram until his cheeks turned pink from embarrassment.

The Aunts all gathered together to exchange some gossip while the Uncles and the Grandkids stood off the side reliving the Match, while Albus's dad and Shacklebolt quietly conferred with the portrait of Albus Dumbledore and the sallow-faced Severus Snape.

His Uncle Charlie gave Albus a hug tight enough to bruise a rib telling him how brilliant that loop was.

"I wonder where you learned to fly like that?" he crowed.

"Fishing for credit is beneath you Charlie," his Uncle Bill called with a grin.

"As I recall when we played Two-a-Side you stayed beneath all of us, Bill," Uncle Ron quipped with a elbow nudge to his eldest brother's ribs.

"That wasn't old Billy goat," Uncle George interjected with a chuckle, "That was Weatherby."

"I had studying to do," Uncle Percy responded in his most arrogant pedantic tone.

This seemed to be a cue of some sort, as all the redheads in the room glanced at each other.

" 'That's how I made Prefect, and Head-Boy, and scored twelve O.W.L.S , and rose to assistant to the Minister of Magic Himself, all before I was twenty-five,' " Ron and George recited together, in bored monotones.

" 'And you can too if you apply yourself,' " supplied Percy's daughters Lucy and Molly in a sing-song voice.

" 'It's all about dedication, and hard work,' " added Cousin Fred arching an eyebrow in a familiar manner.

" 'Patience, perseverance, and relentless drive for excellence will take you everywhere you want to go,' " James, Albus, Rose and Dominique finished the litany; they all looked back at Uncle Percy to see his reaction.

He fussily straightened his robes and pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose then stated, "Well, it appears my work here is done."

They all cracked up at that, Percy joined them soon after.

It was good to be among family, if just for a little while.

**~o0o~**

When they arrived back at the Cellar later to clean up for dinner, Albus wished he could have flooed home with his family after all.

Diana was waiting for them in the Common room, arms crossed and stone-faced. Corny was off to her side. Both Sisters were seated on the sofa before the fireplace. Icky was leaning on the mantle looking upset as if there had been a heated discussion just before.

"Albus, can we have a word, Scorpius, Rose you can stay, you are part of this team after all," she intoned in a way that excluded Albus, he waved his two friends to go stand with the others, he was going to face the results of his actions alone. He knew sole fault rested with him.

After everyone was settled, Diana unwrapped her arms unofficially calling the meeting to order.

"Albus, I want you to look us in the eye and tell us that you did not sell us out for the sake of your brother. I need to know we are not in a 120 point hole because you betrayed us to your family."

Albus could not help but feel hurt that she would think such a thing, but he could see where she would get the impression.

Rose made a scoffing noise but he held up a hand to forestall her defence, this was his fight; she did not need to share his fate.

"If you want to kick me off the team or suspend me, go right ahead, Rose is a better Chaser than me anyway, I'm sorry that I failed to catch the Snitch and that I caused all this. All I can say is...I was there, I was reaching for it, and it slipped out of my hands because I lost my concentration, but I am Hufflepuff to the core, I would never betray my House like that," he stated letting her see his sincerity.

She sighed and her shoulders slumped. "I had to ask, Albus, please forgive me. I am partially to blame here, I did put you in this situation, don't worry, we'll dig out of it," suddenly she grinned, "digging is what Badgers do best after all, right?"

They all agreed and put hands in for a team chant before breaking off.

Rose sighed. "I might actually miss moments like that."

Scorpius was appalled. "You've got to stay on; at least as a reserve, you're brilliant!"

She shrugged. "My hearts just not in it," then she brightened,"anybody else feel hungry?"

They headed up to the Main Hall for dinner while Scorpius argued with futility trying to change her mind.

Albus sighed. _You'd think he'd know better by now._

He managed to tune them out long before they reached the top of the stairs, he saw Fat Friar bouncing along merrily down a side corridor, and the ghost saw him and made his way over beaming good naturedly as he approached.

"Albus Potter, how are you young man?"

Albus waved Scorpius and Rose on before answering in a lower voice. "Not good, I'm afraid; I dropped the Snitch, Father Thomas, let my House down."

The ghost pursed his lips in dismay. "I'm sorry to hear that, however, forgive me for saying...I can't imagine you making a mistake like that, at least by accident."

Albus was taken aback by the ghost's certainty. "Are you saying that I dropped it on purpose?"

The ghost gave him a cocked eyebrow. "Did you?"

Albus felt confused. "I don't know."

The ghost showed him compassionate eyes. "Yes you do."

Albus sighed as the truth washed over him. "Yes, you're right, I do."

The ghost nodded in a gentle confirmation. "Would you like some advice from someone who has had a few centuries to think over his mistakes in life?"

Albus nodded.

Father Thomas sunk through the floor until he was eye level. "I find that the things I regret the most are things I did not do, not the things I did."

He laid a nebulous icy tingly hand on Albus's shoulder. "Always catch the Snitch when it's in your hand, young man, you will never live to regret it. Now go...get some food in you, dear boy...your stomach is growling like a Troll with a toothache."

He floated off with a wave and a chuckle.

Albus was thoughtful as he entered the Hall; he could see his brother over among the jubilant Gryffindors, and their eyes met.

With a grin James mouthed, _Git._

Albus smiled and mouthed back, _Dork_.

They both turned back to their friends, the war was not over between them, but for the first time in their lives Albus could see a day when it would be. It was not a true peace, but to a battle weary soul like Albus, it was as close enough.

* * *

**Thought of the Day: **Albus Dumbledore was called by JK Rowling "the most powerful wizard alive" and "the only wizard that Voldemort feared" and as such he was at a different level from Harry Potter. I think that his growing pains must have been spectacular with all that power...the death of his sister notwithstanding, so for Albus Potter to be a potential Dumbledore level wizard intrigued me. I might get rants that Albus is already too powerful, but the truth is if Albus is too powerful then so was Dumbledore. So I give you Albus and Rose's favorite retort. (Sticks out tongue)

How do you think Albus being the "next Dumbledore" as opposed to the "next Harry Potter" changes the direction of the series? As Linda Richman said, "Discuss."

**Bart**


	14. Chapter 14 The Dark Lord Inside

**Chapter Notes:** I tried to update less than a month this time, I have picked up a beta and he is trying to help me be less of a dunderhead when it comes to editing. However, if there are mistakes left then I take full responsibility.

After the revelation of the last chapter I figured that there would be some sort of fallout...let's face it...or little Albus is a worry wort of epic proportions so he is going to have doubts and fears. I worry sometimes that Albus sounds whiny or self involved then I remember...the dude is twelve years old and a pre-teen...Helloooooooo!

Anyway I am already at work on the next chapter so I am hoping to get a process going that allows me to try to update at least twice a month and monthly at the very least...wish me luck!

This world and all the characters in it belong to JK Rowling and her bank account, I own all the OC's so she can kiss my lilly white derriere if she wants to sue! Na Naaaaaaaa!

**Read and Review if you Like it...If not I accept Torches and Pitchforks too!**

* * *

**Albus Potter and the Black Badger Society**

**Chapter 14: The Dark Lord Inside...**

In the Cellar that night, a small boy tossed and turned upon his bed, images flooding his tired mind.

**~o0o~**

The night was moonlit and blue-gray. His sandal-clad feet made crunching sounds as he trod across crystallised glass that twinkled in the moonlight. He passed trees blown sideways by some unknown force, but which were still producing bright red fruit. The fruit held the half-light of the orb above within their depths. It was a sight both desolate and beautiful.

He could see himself as if viewed from above, a traveller swathed in dark robes, face obscured by a hood, hands swinging as he made his way along the path. In one hand was an elaborately carved wand, its tip glowing a pale green, adding illumination to the scene. The view panned back, and from above it was clear that the entirety of the acres-wide orchard was filled with the same transparent glass trees. At the far end of the orchard was a ramshackle multi-story structure. It looked haphazard but well-lived-in, the lights within still glowing, offering a beacon to the wizard below. Out in the yard, still illuminated by lamps hanging in the glass branches above, was a group of people preserved as silica sculptures, their smiling faces frozen for all time. The wizard stopped and looked over all that he had made, and saw that it was good.

He threw back his hood and stood there, his brown hair now down to his shoulders, his face resembling one of the men preserved in the assemblage, minus a pair of glasses on his nose. His bright green eyes sparkled with mirth as a smile both merry and cruel touched his lips, and he let out a laugh that would have caused any living creature within earshot to tremble...

**~o0o~**

Albus shot awake hyperventilating, that laugh still ringing in his ears.

He was safe in his bed, his chest heaving, and he knew he needed to calm himself before he passed out. He went over the breathing exercises Aunt Audrey had taught him, in order to get his gasping breath under control.

He eased back the bed covers, and the sconce between his bed and Scorpius' lit itself automatically. Albus held his head in his trembling hands, and was dismayed to find his hair soaked with perspiration. There was a sudden weight to his left on the bed; he spun and saw it was Kublai. The cat was purring in a soothing manner, its teal eyes staring intently. It crossed to Albus and butted him in the side, a silent command for attention. Albus began scratching the cat's ears, feeling the rumbling purr under his hand. As if by magic the tightness in his chest dissipated, and he could breathe again.

He sat there with the cat, trying to feel sleepy. It was early Sunday morning after all, and he had no classes that day to worry about. Yet his racing mind would not give him the peace he needed to relax. He needed to take a walk; maybe a snack and some milk would help him get back to sleep.

Giving the cat (who had already settled in on his warm sheets) one last pat on the head, Albus shrugged into a robe over his night shirt, and put on his slippers. Then he reached under his mattress and pulled out his Invisibility Cloak, just in case. He did not even realize he had grabbed his wand until he was stowing it within his robes.

There was a time when that would have disturbed him, but compared to other things he was dealing at the moment, feeling disquieted by his wand seemed a small concern.

He made his way out of the tunnels and into the Cellar Common Room. As usual, the fireplace was cheerily lit, and the room had a warm glow. Yet he could not feel the peace that always seemed to permeate this place. One look up through the illusory burrow hole showed him that the night was as moonlit as his dreams.

Yet another icy spike of fear pierced his mind; he turned and went through the round oaken door and out into the hall of casks, his footsteps echoing off of the ancient timbered walls. At one point he thought he heard a strange echo, but after a pause he decided it was his imagination, and proceeded out through the portrait into the kitchen, empty of elves at this hour. Not even the order and fastidiousness of this environment reached his troubled heart; Albus was about to summon an elf when he suddenly realized that he had only one destination, and it was not the kitchen. Moreover, his stomach was telling him that eating was not a good idea at the moment.

Without another thought he draped the cloak over his shoulders. Now invisible, he walked up the spiralling stone stairs into the castle above. He crossed the Great Hall with its sleeping portraits and scenes deserted for the night, cautiously making his way; he had no fear of getting lost, as he knew the paths to his destination by heart. He passed Nearly-Headless Nick, who was humming a tune, and thought he heard Peeves being chased by Argus Filch the next flight up. Other than that, the castle was as silent as Dumbledore's Tomb.

He watched the corridors for signs of a snare, and listened for the flapping feet of the nocturnal assistant caretaker, Growltooth. So far this year he had managed not to run afoul of the Goblin, even though Growltooth always managed to be somewhere nearby with unerring instinct, with his calculating eyes, stroking his long chin-beard.

Albus arrived at the entrance to The Sprout Arboretum and put one of the white coverall suits on over his clothes. He entered the airlock and used the after-hours code Uncle Neville had given him when Albus had taken wand-handling lessons the year before.

With a hiss of scourgifying magical air, he gained entrance to the magical fauna wonderland that had been built by Neville Longbottom's patient hands. It was mostly dark for the night, but was lit here and there by permanent safety-globes. He walked the dim winding paths to the levels above.

The ultimate reason for his quest was located near the middle of the second story central garden; it was lit directly overhead, and cast prismatic rainbow reflections on the surrounding plant life.

Albus stepped into the enclosure through the one-way containment spell, and found the air to be cold but tolerable.

This tree had caught his eye more than once during his past visits here, but now that he knew it was a crystallized apple tree, its shape took on an all-new significance.

His feet crunched on the growth beneath, where it appeared that the ground itself had been altered.

This was his work . . . and he had done this at age six. His dream came back to his mind unbidden, and he saw himself as the cold menacing presence that had exulted over the suspended remains of his loving family, his last tie to humanity, and his stomach gave a lurch.

Albus shuddered, and it was not from the coolness of the enclosure. "It's beautiful, is it not?" said a voice from a few steps behind him. His nerves were so shot at that point that he did not even start. Besides, it was Uncle Neville.

Albus turned to see his uncle, his hair stuck up in the back from sleep, robe-clad as well, with his wand tip lit. "Any after-hour movement in the arboretum automatically summons me. A . . . change from last year," Neville explained as he entered the enclosure.

He walked through the charms to stand beside Albus, reaching out a hand to touch the branches. "She and her sisters are the first silica based life-forms I have ever run across. They are now in the _Wizard's Guide to Magical Fauna_. The fruits they produce have been studied by Magi-herbologists the world over."

Neville reached in his robes and produced a flask. "Stomach draught?"

Albus accepted it gratefully, unstopped it, and took a swig.

"Better?" Uncle Neville inquired with a smile. "How did you know I'd be here with an upset stomach?" Albus answered.

Uncle Neville let out a laugh. "Albus! I've known you since your mum first felt the bump! _You_ are a worrier, Albus. If you don't have something to wind you up . . . well . . . the fact there is nothing to worry about will cause you to be paranoid."

"Finding out that you nearly destroyed an entire orchard when you were six; that's something worth a little bit of paranoia, wouldn't you say?" Albus shot back, his tone thick with sarcasm.

His Uncle stared at the tree; a look of wonderment touched his features. "Albus, I have no concern that you will be the next Voldemort. The evidence is right here in front of me."

Albus fretted as he stared at the tree. "All I see is a frozen tree, and it terrifies me."

His Uncle put an arm around his shoulders. "Albus, the first act of magic you ever committed as a wizard was to create an entirely new life form. There's no doubt you could have levelled the place, and yet you made something beautiful instead. Deep down you're a life bringer . . . not a destroyer."

"Tell that to that Grindeylow," Albus mumbled.

Uncle Neville did not have to ask about the incident, which told Albus that Neville and Professor Cody had been trading information.

"I'm not going to say that you aren't a bit scary at times, or that you don't need to gain better control of your wand and temper. What I _am_ saying is that this was spontaneous. It was created by something within you that you don't even have to think about, your base nature, at your core, away from conscious thought. This is a reflection of that inner world, and to me it's _glorious_."

He gave Albus a squeeze of the shoulder as he added, "Just try not to kill James before you find your way to the great wizard you will be. I think your Grandmother already has his Christmas jumper half-way finished, and she would be quite put out.

Albus had to grin. "I wouldn't want to upset Grandmother." Uncle Neville chuckled. "I think I would rather face old Bellatrix herself with nothing more than a toothpick than have Molly Weasley giving me the eye."

"Since Bellatrix made the mistake of crossing her, you won't have to," Albus reminded him with a snort of derision.

They both had a good laugh at that.

Albus handed Neville the vial back, but he had only drank half. He found his stomach had settled on its own.

"You might want to keep it, as we have one more item to discuss, Albus," Uncle Neville said, his voice thick with foreboding.

Albus felt another rumble in his stomach . . . so much for it settling. "What now?"

Uncle Neville looked embarrassed. "Since his suspension lifted with the first Quidditch match, I went to check on Scorpius's broom. I am ashamed to say that sometime in the last few days, it has disappeared from the vault."

Albus felt the world go gray for a moment. The implications slammed into his mind. "Who has access?"

"The staff, some Arboretum workers, the prefects . . . and . . ."

"The Head Boy and Head Girl . . ." Albus finished, with a grimace.

Uncle Neville sighed. "I'm the only one who knows the combination. After Atticus Pharrel, we emphasized that even more, but after the door is open I go about my business, assuming that everyone's personal honour will safeguard the contents."

"You're not that gullible," Albus observed.

Uncle Neville gave him a tired smile. "You're right; once an Auror . . . always an Auror. I have other devices for observation and recording within the vault itself. However, over a matter of days, or perhaps even weeks, those devices were blocked or sabotaged, so that by the time the broom disappeared, there were no eyes on the inside."

"A conspiracy of that size would have to involve more than one House," Albus mused.

His uncle nodded. "That was my conclusion as well.

"In all my years at Hogwarts, I have never seen a House under attack like this. Whoever is behind it, they are well-organized, and I am deeply ashamed that we have not taught them better."

"So there's no chance that you can find it before the next Hufflepuff match?" Albus concluded.

"It doesn't look likely, Albus. Professor Cody himself took a look earlier this afternoon, and even with his tracking spells he couldn't find any trace. I think we are seeing Ravenclaw spell work, Slytherin planning, and possibly Gryffindor boldness. I have to say that I doubt your cousin Fred is involved; I refuse to believe he would do such a thing. However, I've had Gryffindors in and out of the vault on various assignments; several are keepers here in the Arboretum and know the security system." He paused a moment, his cheeks flushed with anger. "I don't know what's happened to Gryffindor that they would even be involved in something like this. I think we've been on the top of things for too long; we've forgotten what it means to wear red and gold."

"A multi-House conspiracy to force Hufflepuff back to the bottom of the heap," Albus remarked with a weary sigh.

"As you, or Scorpius, or Rose might say, '_not_ good,' " Uncle Neville finished for him, as he handed Albus back the stomach draught.

**~o0o~**

Albus managed the trip back to The Cellar without setting off any of Growltooth's traps, which was no small feat. He nearly set foot in a well obscured snare as he made the turn from the East Wing into the Central Castle, but managed to pull back in time.

He slipped down the stairs, through the kitchen into the painting, down the corridor of casks and into the comfortable environs of the Cellar. This time he felt the peace he had missed earlier.

Soon he was slipping back into his own bed. He felt as though he had just closed his eyes when his bed coverings were pulled back.

"Morning, Albus," Scorpius crowed. "It's going to be a splendid day! Let's go for a fly, shall we?"

Albus wanted to pull the sheets back over his head and avoid the conversation, especially when he saw in his friend's eyes the light that had been missing for nearly two months, ever since his "grounding." But he knew that it would be selfish to spare himself the discomfort of bursting his friend's good mood.

"We need to have a chat, Scorpius," he said throwing his legs over the side and patting the bed beside him.

Scorpius saw the change in his mood and scooped Kublai off the floor for comfort as he settled in beside his friend. Cormac and Gas were venturing by, but when they saw Albus' face, they stepped over to listen. Albus imparted the bad news. "Three Houses banded together to steal my broom," Scorpius said in a stunned tone of voice. He rubbed Kub's ears as he considered the implications.

Cormac looked so furious he was beyond speech. Albus cleared his throat to get Cormac's attention. He had heard the wood of the bedpost begin to creak dangerously under the small boy's grip.

"Bullies, all of 'em. They just can't stand the thought of us being equals," Gas declared, his own cheeks flushing with anger; one would have thought it was his broom that had been stolen.

Scorpius just sat there stunned, chewing his lip. His face was shut down in that cold aristocratic way that let Albus know how devastated he really was.

He finally looked up and met Albus' eyes. "So . . . what do we do?"

Albus felt that old anger at being relied upon creep up within him, but his scare with James the day before was fresh in his mind, so he shoved it back down. "I don't know yet, but we'll think of something."

"No worries, Scor; Albus will think o' something brilliant," Cormac stated in a voice brimming with confidence.

"You know it," Gas confirmed eagerly.

Scorpius studied his friend's face with a renewed hope Albus found both touching and terrifying. "I know he will," Scorpius said. He paused, looking quietly around the room. "I think I need a walk."

He sat his cat down and strolled out.

Albus let him go. When Scorpius Malfoy needed space, everyone gave it to him.

Everyone but Rose Weasley, that is.

Albus could only imagine what _her_ reaction would be.

**~o0o~**

Fortunately for the rest of the student body, no one outside of the cousins ever even _saw_ that reaction.

If they had, some of the students might have preferred dementors to the fate that nearly befell them.

Rose was already at the breakfast table, with her usual morning-bubble from people giving her space. She was spearing potato cakes as if they had somehow offered offense while she perused their charms textbook, preparing for an upcoming test.

Rose gave Albus a predatory eye as he sat down beside her.

"What do _you_ want?" she growled.

Albus glanced up to see Gas and Cormac sitting further down the table, well out of range. There were times his friends were unmatched in bravery, but giving Rose Weasley bad news over breakfast was not one of them. Albus saw her go strangely calm when he related the situation. That should have been his first warning, but he was too busy feeling relief that she was not going to hex the messenger.

"Albus, stay here. I'll be right back," she informed him in her most saccharine tone. Then she stood.

He had only a moment to realize she was purposely striding down toward the end of the tables where the upperclassmen gathered. Then he saw her wand come out.

Fortunately, Fred and Dom saw her body language from the Gryffindor table and rushed to intercept, grabbing both her arms.

"Let me go," she said quietly from between them, as they bodily lifted her and carried her out of the Great Hall, with Albus, Gas and Cormac following close behind.

Dom managed to grab her wand, while Fred set her down in a corner near the stairs, where he could block her exit.

"Give that back, please," Rose requested, holding her hand out to Dom. Now she sounded calm; her voice was perfectly reasonable, without a hint of anger.

All the cousins knew what _that_ meant, however, and were not fooled. Rose, sounding _calm_, in the midst of anger? Not a one of them needed Divination to understand what _that _augured.

"Not until we hear what's got you hot," Dom replied, keeping Rose's wand well out of her reach.

"They stole Scorpius' broom. I was just on my way to question some suspects," Rose replied quietly. "You're all overreacting, honestly."

"Overreacting?" Fred replied with a snort. "You had that same expression on your face at Gran and Gram's Anniversary two years ago, just before Aunt Fluer's Lemon Raspberry Flan landed down my shorts!"

"I told you . . . I fumbled it. How long are you going to hold a grudge?" Rose remarked, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, a neutral expression on her face.

"I was pulling berries out of places they shouldn't go for the next two days!" Fred reminded her.

Dom crinkled her nose in disgust. "Ewwwww, Fred . . . Change in topic, please! Who stole Scorpius' broom?"

Rose gestured at the students still at breakfast and declared, "All of them!"

"All of them?" Fred replied, his tone indicating his exasperation at his cousin's hysteria.

"Tell them, please, Albus," Rose said quietly. But Albus could see in her eyes that she was not making a request.

Albus filled them in, just as Scorpius walked up from the direction of the Owlery.

He saw the pale boy's cheeks flush red from embarrassment, but Albus did not feel he had a choice; the Kneazle was out of the bag now.

"You can confirm it with Uncle Neville if you don't believe us," Rose added.

Fred looked appalled, and Dom looked as if she was about to go Veela on the same people she had just saved from Rose. "Elanor Ferraro is behind this, her and that git Sloan!"

"Not ta mention yer precious Gryffindors," Cormac added, his ears red and his eyes flashing challenge.

Fred sighed and rubbed his suddenly tired eyes. "Things have changed a bit in Gryffindor. It's not the same House we heard all those stories about."

Dom nodded her agreement. "You guys are probably better off in Hufflepuff these days. It's not bad with the Weasleys still there in numbers, but I'm almost hoping that Louis, Lily and Hugo . . . wind up somewhere else!"

Rose, all anger forgotten, just gaped at them.

"_Gryffindor_ House?" Gas sputtered. "The same House that produced the _heroes_ of the Battle of Hogwarts?" It appeared from his expression that he found such a thought sacrilegious.

Fred and Dom exchanged a glance that spoke volumes even before Fred remarked, "That was a different Gryffindor. That House was a group of underdogs. Slytherin and Ravenclaw were tops back then, but since those days all the best families have wanted to be Sorted into Gryffindor. It's become . . . a different place."

"What we're trying to tell you," Dom stated, "is we don't know if we can find out who was mixed up stealing that broom. Outside of us and a few others, anyone could have been involved."

"Well that's just . . . marvellous!" Rose hissed.

Fred's shoulders slumped. "We'll do what we can, but I doubt we'll find anything out. I know Ravenclaw and Slytherins will close ranks, so I suggest you just write the broom off."

"What about the Professors?" Rose blurted, her face showing just how appalled she was.

"They can't get involved in intra-student affairs; that's what the Prefects and Heads are supposed to be for," Fred replied reluctantly.

"Obviously," Scorpius interjected, "that system has broken down a bit, wouldn't you say?"

Dom and Fred nodded in unison. Albus felt his stomach rumbling again, but this time in hunger. "I say we give it some more thought after breakfast. If you lot want to stay out here and grouse, feel free, but I'm starving."

He strolled past them and into the Hall, heading back to the seat he had vacated.

On the way, he could see that word had already spread.

He glanced up to see Diana and Corny looking absolutely dejected. Diana especially looked near tears.

Fred passed Albus, and before he returned to his seat, he reached out and gave the other Quidditch Captain's shoulder a squeeze of support. Albus also noticed a number of students were studiously avoiding looking at the unfolding scene. He did not want to be paranoid, but there were more possible conspirators pointedly looking away than he would have thought possible.

"I sent an Owl to my Dad," Scorpius remarked as he settled in on the other side of Rose, "I should know if he can replace the broom by this afternoon."

"We'll keep the next one in my purse, and Merlin help anyone who tries to grab it from there," Rose remarked with a glower at those distant students. They settled in for the meal, but there was one more bit of drama to play itself out.

Loki swept in with the rest of the Owls. Albus had always thought the bird had a bit of a smirk on its face, but today it just looked grim.

It dropped a red envelope in front of a barely awake late-coming James, and then fled as though escaping the fiery breath of a dragon.

Rose and Albus exchanged a glance of horror before trying to stuff table napkins in their ears. Scorpius followed suit without a question, while Cormac and Gas looked on with curiosity.

Albus looked back to see his brother's eyes finally widen in alarm, just a little too late, as all his cousins ducked under the table.

The envelope suddenly burst open, and the sound of Grandma Weasley's magically enhanced voice came screaming out:

JAMES SIRIUS POTTER!

IF I _EVER_ HEAR OF YOU BULLYING YOUR BROTHER AGAIN,WE WILL BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION IN PERSON!

I HOPE I AM MAKING MYSELF CLEAR!

The letter burst into a spectacular resounding explosion of flames.

Fred, a bemused look on his face, doused it with a water spell as he crept back out from under the table.

"That, folks, is the new and improved Horrifying Harrowing Howler, Grandmother approved and for sale at all participating Tri-W locations. However, for a small onetime fee all branches are willing to make sure this product is stocked _behind_ the automatic gnome slingers," he announced.

He slapped a shell-shocked James on the back and chuckled as the other students began to murmur and check their ears for bleeding, fishing in their robes for spare sickles.

Albus, Rose, and Scorpius removed their napkins, and Scorpius smirked. "You're right, my folks really _are_ amateurs when it comes to Howlers!"

Gas looked stunned. "I've had Howlers before, but that had to be a step beyond!"

Cormac did not appear nearly as impressed. "That was all well and good, but _me_ Grand Mum would 'ave showed in person wit no warnin', and you don't wanna know what she would 'ave done!"

The grim look on his face told them all they did _not_ want details.

**~o0o~**

The letter from Scorpius's dad did not come for a few days. When it did, the tidings were grim.

_Dear Scorpius, _

_I am disappointed to hear that security has become so lax at Hogwarts. Shacklebolt and Longbottom are certainly not up to standard._

_Skybolts are not inexpensive, my boy, and you know that the state of our finances is still recovering from our recent acquisitions. I wish I could give you better news, but the truth is one Skybolt was all I could afford._

_I suffered through a conversation with your Grandfather to see if he would be willing to lend a hand; he and Mother were very forthcoming about such things when I was a student, but after forcing me to suffer through a long diatribe about Slytherin values and how he made the mistake of spoiling me, he declined, and Grandmother was united with him . . . for once._

_If it were me . . . I would probably pout, write all sorts of nasty letters to the School Board of Directors, mope about school being beastly to anyone who dared glance in my direction, and sit glowering in the stands while others played on._

_You, however, are different from me._

_You have friends and not lackeys; you have resources of your own, and a determination that I never had. Your mum and I are in agreement that you and your friends can figure a way around this if you will put your minds to it._

_So the best I can do at this time is to give you my permission to do whatever is necessary, no matter how underhanded and possibly illegal, to either recover the broom, or acquire a new one. I am still a Slytherin, my boy, and you've got the blood, so I say don't take this lying down, unless that is a better vantage point from which to strike. _

_Do something about it. I think your success would be a _splendid_ revenge._

_I believe in you,_

_Dad_

Scorpius read the letter to them in the Cellar, with Diana listening in.

"So that's it, is it?" she grumbled. "Well, I hope his belief in you translates to your learning to bloody-well fly without a broom!"

She spun and left the room, a flash of yellow-beaded cornrows.

Cormac and Gas had joined them, feeling an investment in the situation, having been in on it from the first.

Albus felt them eyeing him but he kept watch on Scorpius.

Scorpius was actually smiling.

"What do you want to do, Scor?" he called.

Scorpius reread something in the letter with a contented sigh. "Well, Dad _did_ say 'do whatever is necessary.' I'm not sure what that means, but I'll wager you do."

Rose kept quiet during the reading, the gears in her mind whirling. Albus almost felt he could hear them turn.

Albus leaned back in the comfy chair and contemplated for a moment. "Well, what do we have?"

Scorpius gave it some thought. "We have a burned Firebolt stick, and the Twigger 99 Pharrell bought for me last year. I already talked to Professor Bast; she said she could not afford anything near a Skybolt, so that's out—unless your parents want to help?"

Albus knew his answer to that.

His family was one of the wealthiest in all of England, and the Weasley's were all well-off, and thanks to the improved relations between the Malfoys and Potters, there would no protest on behalf of Scorpius's kin, but for some reason, Albus felt that asking his family to bail Hufflepuff out would be like admitting to the other Houses that the badgers were fair game.

"I don't think that's the answer. We've got to do this ourselves, or we'll asking our families to intervene from now on," Albus answered with a shrug.

"I agree with Albus. If you ask an adult to help you out when a bully's messing around, then they'll wait until the adults have gone. _Then_ it gets worse for you," Gas interjected.

Cormac nodded his agreement.

"We could attempt to combine the brooms," Rose muttered, deep in thought. "I'm not sure how that's possible, though. It would take some research, and even then you can't just use _any_ broom. It's got to have a manufacturer."

Scorpius smirked. "Not necessarily."

She glowered at him. "Oh really? How do you get around _that_ rule, smart arse?"

"The intelligence of my arse is none of your concern," he returned with an evil grin.

She answered with a huff.

"You were saying?" Albus interjected, before things could go too far afield.

"_Prototypes._ If you can call your broom a prototype of a model that _might_ be produced someday, then you can fly pretty much any broom you want," Scorpius finished, giving a wink in Rose's direction.

Rose let out a gasp of surprise. "Why . . . that's brilliant!"

"I know," he returned dismissively. Rose gave him a snort of derision.

"So," Albus mused, "what say we talk to Uncle George about being a sponsor? I think he checked into making a Tri-W line of brooms at one time. If we combine the broomstick of the Firebolt with the twigs of the Twigger, maybe we can use the Twigger's manufacturing facilities as our cover, and do the work ourselves . . ."

"But that kind of spell work is far beyond anything we can attempt!" Rose interrupted.

Albus smiled. "It's not beyond Elves."

"_Or_ Leprechauns," Cormac added.

"I know some people in my mum's office at the ministry who would help with the paperwork; they probably know the laws, since scholastic Quidditch has to do with underage wizards," Gas added.

"We could see if Professor Euryale would be willing to paint it; she's a world renowned artist, after all," Scorpius reminded them, his voice betraying his eagerness.

"And I take it you are willing to make the request?" Rose inquired in her sweetest tone.

Scorpius gave her a wink. "I could be . . . convinced . . . to make that sacrifice."

She stuck out her tongue, and then turned to her cousin. "I think this could work, Albus."

Albus had a flash of that Dark Lord with his face walking through the glass garden. He realized that this was the origin of something.

He could still ask his parents and forgo what was coming, but his friends were all sitting there staring at him, waiting for him to give the word.

He wondered if he was the same age as Tom Riddle, when Riddle had begun gathering his Death Eaters.

However, what he saw in their eyes was belief, faith and belief that somehow, he was going to fill in the blanks and make up for what they could not do. They did not care that he was a powerful wizard, they only cared that he made impossible things reachable and that he was their friend.

That kind of faith could be a powerful force for good or for ill, whichever way he decided to cast his lot.

"Let's do this."

* * *

**Thought of the Day: **Gryffindor House rose to the top of the heap at Hogwarts during the Golden Trio years, it is inevitable that the calibre of students within that tower is going to shift with the rise of popularity. Before Harry Potter and the Weasleys, we all know that the Marauders were a bunch of bullying jerks in school and they were in ::GASP:: Gryffindor, which according to James Potter the first was "the only House that matters" so the participation in the Hufflepuff beat down and the stated doubts about the present House of the Lion are reasonable to me. Bear in mind that there are other students, such as Fergus Finnigan, Grayson Wood, Thor Boot, Grantl Nedved, Destiny Segretti, Berry Thorn are among the Gryffindors so the apple barrel is not entirely rotten...However, I am the first writer that I have read on this and other websites making Gryffindor into possible villains, so...

Do you guys think that I am making an OC Gryffindor House...feel free to discuss!

**Bart**


	15. Chapter 15 Being Petty

**Chapter Notes:** Yes, I am alive after all! It took me a while to get back to The Cellar, of course I am not telling you something you didn't know am I?

I wanted to say I appreciate your patience and the kind words that I have received when I decided to come clean about my struggles these last few months. It was not so much that I didn't want to write Albus as much as it was that I COULD not write Albus. Finishing this chapter was like a sigh of relief. I am DEVOTED to getting this book finished this year and I have quite a bit to gap, this chapter shows the beginning of the BBS, I think you can start to see it in it's most basic form here. You will finally see what the Black Badger Society is very soon so hang in there!

**Where we are so far...**

**Chapter One: **Albus takes a walk in Diagon and finds out something about his wand.

**Chapter Two: **Albus overhears a meeting and finally tells his dad what has been going on.

**Chapter Three: **Albus meets the cousin no one talks about.

**Chapter Four: **Scorpius's birthday party, and the beginning of trouble in the trio.

**Chapter Five: **Trip to Hogwart's and meeting the new DADA professor.

**Chapter Six: **The Sorting, new professors and the first prank against Hufflepuff.

**Chapter Seven: **Albus has one off the worst first days in history!

**Chapter Eight: **Conversation with Orion, Kublai takes a stroll and the second big prank against Hufflepuff.

**Chapter Nine: **Scorpius lives up to his nickname and Dom gets hurt.

**Chapter Ten: **Scorpius gets suspended for one game, Albus finally gives him his birthday present and gets some unwelcome news!

**Chapter Eleven: **A midnight conversation and a new friend.

**Chapter Twelve: **Sometimes the help is worse than the challenge, Albus decides on a plan.

**Ch**a**pter Thirteen: **Quidditch flying against James, the final straw between brothers, and the hole in the orchard**.***

**Chapter Fourteen: **While coming to grips about the revelations of the day, Albus is informed of a theft and the truth about Gryffindor.

*****For those of you that have yet to read "The Day that Changed Everything" shame on you, get over there! LOL! Kidding, it's your choice but I think you're missing something if you don't.

For those of you that reviewed the place holder I hope that you will drop me a note and tell me how you feel about this my first chapter back. Since it's been a while you might want to read the previous three chapters or so.

Once again I am going without a beta, all mistakes are my own so feel free to point them out, I will definitely make the changes if they are merited!

**All characters and the HP universe belong to JK and her accountants!**

**Bart**

* * *

**Albus Potter and the Black Badger Society**

**Chapter 15: Being Petty...**

That first planning session produced a plan of attack.

In the days that followed the five friends began to set about their appointed tasks.

Gaspar got word back from the ministry the morning after he sent his fat lazy owl off with a message tied to it's chubby leg.

While Hooty gasped for breath collapsed in a heap of feathers in the middle of the breakfast table, Gas told them the contents of the letter.

"Aunt Matilda says that she can help with the paper work, but when we get the broom completed it has to be flown in front of a ministry official for safety considerations," he informed glumly feeding his weary owl a sausage it clearly did not need.

"Well that's just brilliant!" Rose hissed, she was seated off to the side just within ear shot but not close enough to damage anyone since she was her usual vile morning self.

"I-I'm sorry," Gas stammered as his owl waddled off to try to get airborne, "the rules are very clearly defined, so someone can't alter their manufacturer's specs and gain an unfair advantage at the cost of safety, it's happened before, or they wouldn't have the rule, right?"

"Skipper Toomey tried to alter his breaking charm in 1984 thinking it caused unnecessary drag, they dug him out of the middle of the pitch in time but it was a close thing, there's still a raised mound under the turf, I felt it," Scorpius added.

"Where did you read that?" Rose demanded.

"It's an addendum to the new anniversary edition of _Hogwarts, a History_, I got it over the holiday," Scorpius replied with a wolfish grin, enjoying the needling.

"How did you get that, it's not even due out till early next spring, I'm on the order list at _Flourish and Blotts_ and have been for months!" Rose growled.

Scorpius waved at her and gave her a grin and a wink, "Helloooooo, Malfoy!"

"Helloooooo, Colossal-Arrogant-Git," Rose shot back.

"Jealousy," Scorpius lamented, "such an ugly thing to see."

"So…"Cormac interjected.

"So," Albus cut in grateful that someone got a word in edgewise, "we get the manufacturer lined up, we build it right, and this is not a worry."

"One manufacturer coming right up," crowed a voice from behind Albus.

His cousin Fred leaned in and slapped a parchment down on the table where everyone could see.

There was the Tri-W seal but it had a new logo beneath it.

"Behold the Tri-Twigger specialty broom company," Fred announced, his voice dripping with drama. "Dad snuck into Hogwarts last night, said he needed the challenge (remind me to mention that hole in security to Shacklebolt, will you?) and brought me this, he has a contract pending with the Twigger broom company, they got a boost in sales when it came to light that Malfoy over there used their Twigger99 for part of the year, something I have a hunch they leaked to the press."

"But tha broom was rubbish, Scorpius had ta risk his neck just ter have a chance at a grab," Cormac pointed out.

Fred shrugged. "Doesn't matter in the advertising world, if you can attach a known name to your product in any way, you can use it to move product, even a name like Malfoy."

Fred gave Scorpius a wink, "No offense Death-Eater spawn."

Scorpius smiled back. "None taken."

"That's not all Dad delivered," Fred stated with a grin straight from his dad's collection of sneaky expressions. "Here it is, fresh off of Dinky's draft table, the all new Tri-Twigger Icarus, soon to be available in a Tri-W branch near you, with a long enough developmental period mind you…assuming you lot can come up with something worthy."

He spread out an elaborate sketch onto the table top and they all gathered around eagerly. He left them to it with a chuckle having already taken an earlier gander himself.

Dinky was a genius in product creation, but sometimes the demented little fellow added just a little more magic than usual.

It was breathtaking.

The sketch had a dimensional charm so it rotated on the parchment to show all sides, she had the elegance of a Firebolt, but there were scalloped grooves in the wood that changed the lines to something more modern, the front end was carved into an art deco shape reminiscent of a winged man reaching for the sun that tapered back into the rest of the lines, and the twigs while still recognizably a Twigger99 configuration were carved and arranged around one another in a twist that added to the illusion of speed. On the handle just ahead of the grips was the new Tri-Twigger badge superimposed with a side view icon of the reaching winged man with lines that ran from him down the length of the broom.

"The Icarus?" Rose proclaimed with a snort, "Leave it to that twisted little elf to name something meant to fly after a man who fell to his death!"

"I dunno, we are making a broom for a boy who once jumped off a broom several stories up for a grab…I believe the bloke is nicked "Mad-Man Malfoy" right?" Albus pointed out.

"Good point," Rose replied with a wry smile quirked with irony.

Scorpius paid them no mind; his finger was tracing the lines. He was clearly in love already.

"My uncles can carve tha shape, and help out with tha luck we'll be needing to pull it together, but we'll have to be careful dealing with 'em," Cormac supplied.

"Why's that?" Gas inquired, "You always talk like they are fun blokes to have around."

Cormac and Albus exchanged a look, silently deciding that Gas was not to talk to the Leprechauns under any circumstances whatsoever.

The unofficial meeting broke up as they all headed to their first class of the day which caused Albus to stifle a groan.

**~o0o~**

It was Wednesday, which meant first class was double potions. Double the trouble, double the torture, and double the potion related spell damage. Madam Pomfrey held a bed for him in the Medical Wing on Wednesdays. If he managed to dodge whatever disaster Azure cooked up, then the whole experience usually had him sick with nerves and a sense of failure because he always felt Professor Flint expected something of him and saw the disappointment in the man's dark eyes.

_What does he want? He stuck me with the two worst students he has in all of Hogwarts, one who won't listen and the other who doesn't care!_

The day, viewed from the breezeway during the walk down, had that crisp umber brightness you only see in the mornings as autumn gives way. Albus could sense Halloween was nearing, a thought abetted when he saw Hagrid was growing his crop of monstrous pumpkins in his cottage garden which he would turn into even more alarming Jack-O-Lanterns before the Holiday.

Albus sighed wanting to linger at that sight before he had to descend into the dungeons, Rose, without even a glance in his direction, or letting up in her and Scorpius's customary morning argument grabbed his sleeve and tugged him behind them like a mother would a toddler.

It was a good thing; otherwise he would be tempted to bolt for The Cellar.

Soon he was seated between a pensive Azure Gorman, chewing her bottom lip but jaw clenched in determination, and a seriously apathetic Liam Donovan who had not even pulled his text book out but was studying the specimen jars in the alcoves to the side as if divining fate in tea leaves.

Flint marched in with his usual punctuality, and ominous wand wave causing the door to lock, and with no preamble, began to write instructions on the board with his usual hurried precision.

"Today we will be brewing a volatile potion that is used for the removal and treatment of skin irritations, however if not perfectly executed it has the opposite effect." He declared to the class with his back still turned as he created a diagram for the ingredients needed and in what portion and order.

Azure, once again, slid the ingredients closer to her as they were revealed glaring at Albus, daring him try to intervene as he had attempted so many times in the past months, however Albus just let her go, finally giving up the fight, resigned to the inevitable.

**~0~**

Later, Rose and Scorpius waited for him outside the medical wing, they had their favourite perches worked out in the hallway from familiarity. They were arguing about Margo Duval's fake violet eyes as Albus emerged smelling of Tugwood Ointment.

Azure was still inside getting treatment, and he saw her silent tears of anger and frustration rolling down her cheeks as he passed. She was waiting for Madam Pomfrey as she sorted the other three students that where unfortunate enough to be in range at nearby tables.

Albus felt nothing but apathy for her, at this point. He no longer wanted to know why she insisted on dominating the brewing when she was so obviously a disaster at it and just wished she would be absent for just one day so he could finish one class on his feet. He'd rather deal with Liam alone, which meant he would be brewing by himself but even that was better than showing up in the medical wing looking like a miniature rock troll like last Monday!

Speaking of Liam, the silver haired creep was not there, having pulled shield charm up at the penultimate moment yawning in boredom at the proceedings, emerging unscathed as always.

They all walked up to History of Magic, late to class, but Albus knew the Haemophiliacs would be taking down every word from the Professor's fanged mouth so they could always borrow notes. The preening vampire hardly seemed to notice he had students most days so they slipped into the opulent salon that he used as a classroom and settled into an upholstered couch near the back as he droned on about magic use in the Roman Era.

"Romans," he snorted contemptuously, "thought they had the whole world sorted, didn't they? Early years they were formidable, no one dared oppose them, there at the end they were overweight, waddling around with vomit on their chins thinking they were invincible while the tribes around them, who became civilized by their influence, organized to bring them down.

Those arrogant conquerors of Carthage… defeaters of a smaller civilization, one far more vibrant, only crime being they had the misfortune of having been in the same era. Oh the glory of Carthage! That city made Rome look like a collection of shacks caste in marble in comparison…"

He trailed off, and then seemed to remember where he was, he turned back to the students and collected himself. "Right, Stygian Witches, fact or fabrication, strange old girls they were! Not sure whose eye that was originally they passed around, my money was on Enyo…She was always losing things…"

Scorpius leaned over to Albus, normal behaviour when he heard something he found peculiar. "Did I just hear him talk of Rome like he was there?"

"Seemed rather fond of Carthage," Albus mused, "wonder if he got Hannibal's autograph?"

They sniggered and Rose shushed them…also as usual.

**~0~**

They were leaving class and headed to the Defense Against the Dark Art's classroom, known now by the unofficial title "Orion's Tower" when Albus got a reminder that he could have done without.

"Are you Albus Potter?" asked a sneering insouciant voice, he turned to see Kian Kerry standing there with the two C's, Cameron Zabala and Conner Janski. The two burly blond haired boys bookended the slender dark haired Kian, he had a rolled up parchment in his hand.

"Of course he's Albus Potter, you oaf," Rose growled her hand slipping inside her robes to grab her wand, "You see him everyday, right?"

He seemed taken aback with her venom but recovered like the politician's son he was. "I only meant it in jest, Rose, Professor Flint asked me to pass this, since he forgot to mention it amidst all the carnage."

His cheeks flushed as he handed the roll over to Albus and strolled away telling his now confused henchmen to follow with a nod of his head.

As Albus unrolled something that could only be very bad news from the source, Scorpius watched the threesome walking away. "That was relatively bloodless; I think he fancies you, Rose."

She spun on him, her face so red her freckles temporarily blended. "He does not fancy me! I insulted his father and caused him and those two baboons he uses as muscle to be put into detention last year, that's hardly cause for interest is it, genius?"

"For a Slytherin that might be basis for a first date," Scorpius replied with a cheeky grin.

"Oh you!" she yelled and stalked off.

"You might want to hold off being her partner in DADA today, we're supposed to practice Jelly-legs jinxes," Albus mentioned to Scorpius in a distracted voice as he mused about the contents of the note.

"She's always hostile," Scorpius replied with a shrug and a grin, "and I love danger, as you two pointed out earlier, so what's the scam?"

Albus sighed as he rolled up the parchment. "He wanted to remind me of detention with James Friday evening."

"What's worse, that it's Flint or that it's with James?"

Albus had to sigh. "Both."

**~0~**

Since the broom abduction, Albus had mused about Orion's inability to find those responsible, when the Hufflepuff student was hung over the stairs the first night back, he seemed quite capable of seeking out those responsible. He got his answer as he and Scorpius approached the tower stairs. He heard voices down a side corridor. With a start he heard his name mentioned in angry tones.

He gave Scorpius's robes a tug and they both slipped into an alcove and he pulled out the invisibility cloak and they ducked under and slipped around the corner.

Professor Bast stood inches away from Professor Cody's nose, her whiskers twitching in her anger; her long blond furred tail was motionless which Albus knew meant she was near to losing it.

Orion just listened with his arms crossed but his hand was clutching his cane just below the crystal.

"I know you can find them all, if you wanted to, I was there when you tracked Wounded Knife, a master of disillusionment spells, across the snows of Donner Pass!"

"You told me "this school didn't need my havoc" and that "you didn't need my help", Free, you can't have it both ways," he drawled in response.

"My name is Freya, Professor Bast to you, and this goes far beyond a mere prank, this is stealing property, and as such we must punish those responsible for a criminal act!" she responded with a tail twitch.

"Albus and his friends are coming up with something, I'm not sure what. Don't you want to give them the chance to find out what they can do? Are you doing them any favours by asking me to intervene?"

She growled deep in her throat before responding, "Always thinking like a strategist, aren't you Rion?"

"That is why Harry brought me here, Free, you knew as soon as I showed up," he responded.

"That's what I'm afraid of," she spat before spinning and briskly strolling away her tail swishing angrily.

She never saw the way Orion's shoulders slumped before he gathered himself for the walk to the classroom.

As he passed the hidden boys he casually remarked, "You need to make sure you are not in a direct beam of light when you are sneaking up on someone, you were casting a shadow up the corridor before you pulled the cloak over your heads, don't be long, class is beginning in five minutes."

Albus and Scorpius emerged as he ascended the stairs to the tower.

"My grandfather is intimidating, but that man scares me," Scorpius remarked with a shudder.

Albus shrugged, "I think Professor Bast scares him."

"That's mental, she's the sweetest person at this school," Scorpius murmured as they heard a distant door shut from where she had disappeared.

"She knows his nickname," Albus replied, "I don't know how they met, but I don't think they left it well."

"Well that's not my concern," Scorpius replied with a shrug, "Rose has an admirer, now I have something to wind her up every time she mentions Margo, no matter what else happens to day, I'm good!"

Albus watched his friend stroll away whistling a merry tune, probably contemplating the best way to torture his cousin.

He shook his head at the suddenly complicated world he was beginning to see dawn and followed Scorpius in.

**~o0o~**

The rest of the week passed rather quickly, time flies for the condemned, Albus contemplated ruefully. Except for a Charm's accident that caused several windows to explode in Professor Patil's class, an incident that caused Growltooth to growl what must have been an expletive in Gobbledegook, it was relatively uneventful Wednesday night through Friday afternoon.

His group asked elves on staff who was the best with magic so they could find one who could discern the combination of spells on the brooms that were going together to make the Icarus. He remembered Poppy from the day he fixed the Hufflepuff door, but when he asked the elderly elf shook his head.

"I'm too old for magic that prolonged, young Master, but Lunker or Itchy are as good as I used to be before my beard grew out."

He watched the two elves in question; it was not much of a selection in his book. The tall elf Itchy was using the last table leg on the forth table left as a scratching post his ears drooping in pleasure while Lunker whistled what sounded like a funeral dirge as he worked rolling out dough for what looked like meat pies.

A twitchy elf that could barely stop scratching long enough to cook, or relentless negativity from the dourest elf Albus had ever run across.

"Gertie? Albus inquired hopefully.

"Aye, she's a good lass, but female elves are better at active magic, if you were wanting someone to caste the spells she would be yer girl, but when it comes to the passive, male elves are who you'll be wanting." Poppy replied wiping his hands on a tea towel, he was dressed in his favourite clothing, a little white shirt, black cords and bracers, the elves now pointedly used the old uniform towels for their original purpose, which always caused Albus a little smile.

Albus sighed and made his decision.

"Lunker?" he called.

The elf with the pop eye and hairy feet turned around as if expecting bad news, which Albus suspected was somehow a good thing in his mind. He was to emotional pain what Dinky was to self punishment.

"Yes, young master Albus, what can Lunker do for you, however paltry my efforts will turn out to be," the elf droned.

Poppy saw Albus's frustration and chuckled. "Don't worry young master, I'll translate your request, I speak his language, just tell me when you need his services."

Albus breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll let you know as soon as I do."

Cormac assured him that his uncles would be there that Saturday and set about to acquire the tools they would require, Rose spent most of Friday after class in the library studying broom making techniques. Gas was working with his "Aunt" to sort the proper paperwork.

Scorpius used Albus's owl Nox to send out some queries to his father's business contacts for secret manufacturing information that would not be construed as entirely legal by his own admission. When he asked Albus if he had any objections, he quoted his Uncle George's motto, "Nothing is entirely legal. There will always be countries that outlaw what you are doing while other countries are fine with it, as long as no one gets hurt or put out, no worries!"

Scorpius cocked an eyebrow and smirked. "And they call me a Malfoy!"

At seven o'clock, Albus left them to their devices while he made his weary way down to the dungeons.

**~0~**

Albus was rather disconcerted to see James waiting for him in the hallway on the way.

"Alright there, Alby?" he called.

"What do you want, James?" he replied cautiously keeping a margin between them.

"Just walking my little brother down, does it always have to be suspicion with you?" James lamented.

"Sutures, spell damage, traction, hanging me upside down until I pass out, jinxing anything and everything I might touch…" Albus recited.

"Alright," James interrupted, "so maybe I've not been the proper sibling to you, that's before I found out what you can do, so maybe give me a little credit for making you into such a tough little bloke at least?" he remarked with that old grin that always made Albus's stomach clench.

"You want me to thank you for all the ways you have tortured and made my life darker than a Death Eater's knickers at midnight?" Albus inquired incredulously.

"You're welcome," James replied magnanimously giving his brother a slap on his back, "now hurry up so you don't make me late."

Albus followed him, glowering and checking the back of his robes.

They found Professor Flint in the classroom pipe clenched in his teeth, he had jars of specimens and ingredients down from the alcove, there must have been hundreds all over the room.

"Ah yes, there you are," he said with his usual lack of inflection.

He waved his arm at the conglomeration. "Sort them for freshness, if you find one expired go to the cupboard and restock, I expect each and every replacement to be relabelled in neat handwriting, which leaves you out James, and I expect this to be done in three hours."

Albus and James stared at the myriad jars, aghast as Flint swept out of the room in a cloud of tobacco smoke.

"So what's our plan of attack?" James inquired.

"You're asking me?" Albus said with a look of astonishment.

"Yeah!" James replied rolling his eyes.

"Sort all the jars that need restocking and a new label on one side that way we only have to deal with those, everything else will be sorted and out of our way," Albus stated with a shrug.

"I'll take the left side," James replied and immediately got to work.

Albus watched him a few moments wondering when the prank would hit, then he made his way to his area keeping a cautious eye on James, to his consternation, his brother just worked in silence, no sneering or insults or hurled potion ingredients came his way the entire time.

He was beginning to wonder if his brother was trying some new tactic when James casually began making conversation.

"I noticed that you and Flint don't exactly get on, can I ask what he does that gets you so twisted up?"

It all came gushing out, Albus reflected later that James must have taken advantage of the moment, but it couldn't have gone worse for Albus if he had planned it.

"He's mental!" Albus declared, "I had top marks in the class last year and instead of giving me credit he stuck me with the two worse students in the class!"

"Oh?" James encouraged with an interested expression.

"Yeah!" Albus blurted, "He just stares at me like he expects me to somehow complete the assignment dragging those two behind me! That Azure won't let me help her, takes over the whole time and Liam just doesn't care! Flint acts like I've failed somehow when he's the one that rearranged the class and made it impossible. If you ask me, he's just…petty!"

James smiled brighter than Albus had seen him all night and a trickle of sweat ran down his back as he smelled cherry tobacco pipe smoke.

"He's behind me, isn't he?" Albus murmured.

James winked.

"Not good."

"James, I think that is enough for one night, I will see you Monday," Flint remarked in a strangely quiet voice.

James saluted his brother as he passed whistling a tune.

Flint crossed Albus's line of sight and sat down at his desk, he let out a sigh. "Mister Potter, come…sit." He levitated a chair across from himself which Albus settled into, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I didn't mean it, professor, I swear!" he pleaded.

Flint raised a finger for silence. Albus complied.

"You meant every word," he stated with absolute certainty.

His eyes bored into Albus's own until he gave a shy nod.

"I am a Slytherin, Mister Potter, if you want explanations for my actions, you need to look elsewhere, I have no interest in explaining myself to anyone," he said lacing his fingers behind his bald head, leaning back casually. "Everyone treats you with caution and deference trying to make sure you don't turn into a nightmare, which you are very capable of doing, but what they don't see is that you are already headed down that path."

Albus began to protest but he was stopped by another obsidian glare.

"You have this sense of entitlement that is very disturbing, you think that you should have an easy path, but the very fact you exist means that you have a difficult way ahead of you, somewhere out there is someone who is your equal and he is not going to be a pampered, spoilt, privileged little brat."

Albus felt his jaw drop, no one, not even James at his worse had ever talked to him like this.

"I'm not here to be your friend, as a matter of fact, it will not break my heart if I turn out to be your most hated professor ever, as long as you reach your potential and become someone strong enough to fight for us all," Flint finished.

"I'll take care of the rest, I need you to be elsewhere," Flint ordered with a nod toward the door.

Albus headed for the door feeling genuinely embarrassed of himself for the first time in his life when Flint stopped him with these words.

"Azure and Liam are my students too, I did not assign them your table to slow you down, I was hoping you would find a way to help them, now, ask yourself who's being petty?"

Albus made his way out to the corridor to find James sitting on the stairs up waiting on him.

"Sorry about that, Albus," he said with a pained look.

Albus thought he had reached the end of surprises tonight, but his brother apologizing to him was nearly inconceivable.

He passed his brother without a word wanting to get back to the Cellar and crawl into his bed, his confidence shaken to the core.

James, striding along beside kept talking. "Flint is a creepy bloke but he knows his stuff, he was rough on you, but he doesn't lace his trainers unless he has it planned out, so maybe you should listen to what he had to say, yeah?"

Albus felt like he wanted to cry but he refused to show weakness in front of James, he walked in silence, head down, and eyes burning, up the appropriate corridor. James kept pace by his side, he sensed his brother had more to say but he was done listening.

They reached the stairway that would lead up to Gryffindor Tower, James grabbed his arm and with a gentle tug stopped him.

"Albus, hold up, I want to talk to you a bit."

Albus crossed his arms refusing to meet his brother's eyes.

James fidgeted, trying to decide what to say.

"Me giving brotherly advice," he said with a snort, "can you believe it? Teddy would swallow his tongue!"

Albus had to smile in spite of his feelings.

James playfully punched Albus's shoulder. "You're not a bad bloke, Albus, but Flint was right, Mum and Dad treat you different. Don't write off his words and put it under _Flint is a big git_ without thinking about what he said, alright?"

"He was right," Albus said surprising himself with his candour.

"Well then, don't go blubbering and getting snot all over my robes," James replied with mock horror.

"I wouldn't give you the satisfaction," Albus replied with a snort.

"G'night, Albus."

"G'night, James."

* * *

**Thought of the Day:** I have read many different opinions on my James Sirius Potter. I have heard from some that he is the "perfect big brother" and from others that he is an arrogant jerk and someone to detest. I hope that I have made him a well rounded character, someone who does awful things to his brother but in the end no one better try to hurt him! My older brother and I have a strange relationship, I was much closer with a younger sibling who was closer to my age to the extent that he rarely even exchanged words with me growing up. However, as we have gotten older I've discovered that we are both our father's son, and our mother's boys, and blood does connect deeper than I ever thought. I think that James and Albus being so close in age, and adding in the fame and attention they both have dealt with their entire life, their relationship is never going to be anything but complicated.

However, my topic of discussion is this, Teddy Lupin being the surrogate big brother allowed James to avoid that role, it allowed James to ignore the fact he had a responsibility to Albus as the older sibling,and see him as more of a rival to be defeated and surpassed, now that he has realized that he can never compete with Albus, how is that going to change the relationship?

Thanks for your patience in my long absence, I hope this chapter is worth the wait.


	16. Chapter 16 Waiting for the Next Owl

**Chapter Notes:** I'm sure some thought that this chapter would take another six months, but I am committed to finishing this up this year! Unless I am committed to a local mental institution from the stress that is LOL!

Anyway, I had a destination I wanted to go but never could seem to get there, but when I reread YotB and my march toward the Christmas chapter that meandered for three chapters I have to say that some of my favorite parts in that book were in those supposedly throwaway epistles. I am committed to telling a story here, not reach a goal, some people have asked why my stories seem to have more life to them this is the reason.

A famous author who wrote a great book on writing said that stories are preexisting artifacts that we unearth as intact as we can. I am doing my best to uncover the bones of this monster but it does take a bit of time, just know that I am at work!

Once again...no beta so if you see something let me know in as kind and considerate way as possible...I am a sensitive sot! R&R please!

**This universe belongs to JK Rowling and her scary lawyers so to her all the credit and money doth go!**

I say as I tremble at the Lexicon's fate...

* * *

**Albus Potter and the Black Badger Society**

**Chapter 16: Waiting for the Next Owl to Drop...**

_Leprechauns are an interesting lot! _Albus would reflect later, of course, that might just have been Cormac's uncles.

Cormac had made mention that their names where Patrick, Padraig, and Padraic, and that they just took similar names for fun because it was hard to tell them apart as it is, seeing as how they were triplets.

Having three male children third to the throne would be disastrous under most circumstances since Cormac's mum was older than them by just two years. In most kingdoms that in and of itself would wreak all sorts of havoc. If something where to happen to Cormac, his mum, and grandfather, having three possible monarchs at the same time would reduce most human kingdoms to bloodshed and infighting for years to come, for leprechauns that could last centuries!

Of course since these three fun loving balls of mischief had no such pretensions, (which to them meant they would have less fun) having their sister next in line, and her son who was a half breed behind her, was fine by them.

Three less ambitious blokes you would never find, and even being used to his Uncle George's mercurial nature did nothing to prepare Albus for the energy that this trio brought with them like a cloud of dust.

More fascinating still was the fact that Albus had already met Cormac's Uncle Pat, and had known him for all of the previous year.

They met in an abandoned classroom in the East Wing of Hogwarts early Saturday morning, a place that Rose had thoughtfully scouted earlier; it was Professor Binn's old set.

The previous History of Magic Professor had been a droning old ghost, monotone and boring alive, he was made even more tedious by death, and now there was a fear that having explored the other side he might come back some day to resume teaching and no one wanted to know of his availability if that occurred, so there was no chance of being interrupted.

Having a bloodsucking fiend eyeing you like steak tartare was a more palatable arrangement than that tedious fate!

Scorpius brought the scorched Firebolt and Twigger 99 broomsticks with him, the way he reverently held the older fire damaged flyer in his hand made Albus ashamed once again that he had showed so little faith in his friend at his birthday party.

Rose saw the same thing and gave him that _I told you so_ look that his Aunt Hermione had patented.

He gave her a disinterested shrug, ignoring her smirk.

Gas and Cormac arrived soon after, Gaspar bubbling with excitement, Cormac looking strangely resigned, he had a packet of carving knives in one hand and on his shoulder was his big fat bullfrog familiar that he brought to Hogwarts with him.

Albus had seen it hopping around from time to time, it was almost as adventurous as Kublai, and the cat had always given it a wide birth. Considering the feline's dangerous nature, Albus suddenly realized how odd that was.

"Why did you bring that old thing?" Rose inquired with her usual lack of tact.

"Maybe he thought we could use a mascot," Scorpius quipped.

"It's his Uncle, one of the Pats, not sure which one," Gas supplied to everyone's utter astonishment, including Cormac and his pet frog, whose bug eyes managed to become even wider as it gaped.

Gas shrugged. "I'm not as stupid as everyone thinks."

"Obviously," the frog croaked.

With a short hop the frog transfigured into a red bearded little man with a twinkling eye, pointed ears and a smile that was pure mischievous boy.

He raised two fingers to his lips and let out a shrill whistle and out of the solid rock wall stepped two more identical red headed bearded older men, as it happened Cormac and his mum were the tall ones in the family.

Cormac made the introductions with a pensiveness that was odd for the normally easy going boy.

"These are me uncles Pat, Paddy, and Pad."

All three men said at once, "You can call me Pat."

Cormac rolled his eyes in irritation.

"Spendin' time with tha humans made yer kinda stiff, Mac," one of his uncles said with an elbow to Cormac's ribs that made him wince.

"Jes get it done, you know what the Old Gaffer said," Cormac reminded him.

All three feigned a look of terror, but Albus could tell that the younger half-Leprechaun's words had some weight.

"Aren't ya gonna introduce us to the pretty lass?" one of the Pat's teased giving Rose a proprietary look causing her to blush to her roots and become uncharacteristically bashful as he playfully took her hand and kissed the back of it with a flourish, "a pretty lil' one she is," he purred.

"You're one to talk about me being little," she murmured demurely to his amused chuckle.

"She's also twelve years old, Uncle Pad," Cormac reminded him.

The little man looked unrepentant. "Sorry, m'lady, in me neck o'the woods ya coulda' be two hundred if yer was a day"

"Leave 'er alone, Pad, you'd think you were three hundred again an in heat tha way yer actin!" one of the other's ribbed.

"Jes appreciating the flowers here 'bouts," he shot back as he joined the other two.

"You'd better bind them to the task or they could get into all sorts of trouble," Gas reminded his friend.

Cormac gave him an even longer speculative look.

Under his friend's scrutiny Gas just shrugged, "I did some reading, and asked your mum some questions last time she came for a visit."

"When did Liala visit a lil' tater such as you?" one of the Pats inquired with a chuckle.

Gas 's face flushed as he replied, "I'm Cormac's best friend, of course she would want to have a talk, you know how…intense she can be."

"You mean tight arsed," one of the Pat's grumbled.

"Yer jes still upset she made yer werk as a tourist attraction in Eire for twelve years when yer tied her braid to her chair at the Autumn feast," one of the other Pat's reminded with a chuckle.

"Yer na tha one tha had to utter "top o' tha mornin' twelve hunnerd times a day for over a decade," he replied with venom.

The other two turned to one another and said in a syrupy voice, "Top o' tha mornin' to ya!" They both had a chuckle at that one while Cormac looked like he was grinding his teeth in irritation.

"Padriac, Padriag, Patrick, sons of Cormac tha Great, third in tha line, as second in tha line I bind ya to tha task I'va appointed, you are ta perform it, an return back to our lands straightway, except for Uncle Pat who has other constraints higher than mine," Cormac commanded in an uncharacteristic authoritarian tone.

All three gave him a begrudged salute that managed to be insincere, and set to the task. They unrolled Dinky's plans, whistled appreciatively and bent to the work with a will.

They began to strip the broom stick with amazing skill, the burned lacquer came off under their expert hands as smoothly as if it were chemically stripped, Albus was certain that there was not a millimetre of wood lost as they worked, while one of them worked on the twigs from the Twigger.

"What is the higher constraint on Uncle Pat?" Gas inquired as they watched the little men work.

"It's sorta my fault," Cormac mentioned.

"Pat was tha one who plucked tha ole Gaffer's beard hair fer Mac's wand," Paddy returned with a chuckle.

The one that must have been Pat shrugged. "We needed a powerful hair fer Mac's wand, he's tha most powerful we got."

"Yeah but he's got a memory as long as tha land rolls back," one of the others pointed out.

"You could've jest asked, ya know how he dotes on 'is great-grandson," needled the other one.

"Now where's tha fun in that?" Pat returned with a grin that bespoke of pranks yet to be.

Cormac shook his head ruefully but Albus could see a small smile at the corner of his mouth.

"What's tha constraint?" Gas inquired.

"Be happy to tell ya, if ya wan ta know," Pat replied with a small grin that alarmed Albus, causing him to tense.

"I don't need to know that much, no thanks," Gas replied.

They all exchanged a glance and an appreciative nod in Gas's direction. "You've chosen yer friends well, Mac," the one that Albus was beginning to recognize as Paddy informed his nephew.

Cormac smiled "Yer not werkin."

They all three bent back to the task grumbling about harsh taskmasters.

"What was all that about?" Scorpius inquired, "I've never seen you flinch like that Albus."

"Long story," Albus said back in a lower volume, "not sure I could tell you without permission, and I don't want to ask for it."

Cormac nodded at Albus's perception of his situation.

"It's all about the onus, with the Leprechauns," Gas supplied, "it's like a magical verbal contract, that's why you have to be very careful about talking to one, never agree to anything, unless it's offered, make sure you don't take anything, even casual information, for any price, because in the end it's always your life on the line."

They all stared at him and he sighed in exasperation.

"That was information that would have been nice to have a year ago," Albus grumbled.

They all had a snigger at that, including the three leprechauns, showing that they had not been entirely out of earshot all along.

They all chatted quietly about the rest of the broom assembly while the three little men worked.

"I have the Twigger attachment charms, when it comes time to reattach the twigs to the end of the broom," Scorpius supplied.

Rose gave him a look that clearly showed she was suspicious. "They wouldn't even give Uncle George that, how did you get it?"

Scorpius shrugged as he replied, "What makes you think they gave it to me?"

She gave him a disgusted look and intoned, "Hellooo, Malfoy."

He playfully touched the side of his nose with an index finger and pointed to her, in spite of her snort of derision she had to smile.

"I know the charm sequence we have to determine to recast a broom," she continued, "every broom has a series of interconnected charms, the individuality comes from the particular order of the sequence and the type of charm used, no one has ever been able to determine the combination to unlock a Firebolt's unique abilities every major manufacturer has tried, no one has ever come close. That includes the SkyBolt."

"That's because they were all cast by one wizard," Scorpius added.

"Fireston Pratt," Albus informed, "that's why they are all individually stamped and exceedingly rare, he worked for the Nimbus Corporation while he developed the new broom in his basement, then he went into business for himself, it took him nearly a week per broom, when he reached a number he thought was prudent he stopped and retired, died five years ago with his secrets, a very wealthy wizard."

"If we succeed, won't we be violating some sort of copy right, or intellectual property by copying his sequence?" Rose inquired chewing her bottom lip thoughtfully, "Pratt deserves to have his legacy."

"We don't have time to come up with our own sequence, Rose, broom development normally takes years, "Scorpius reminded her, but his forehead was wrinkled in worry.

They all got silent at those words, feeling the weight of what they were proposing to do.

"Pardon, me lads and lady," Pad said as he left his brothers and approached, "couldn't help but overhearin' I've been around a few more years than you lot, so canna suggest something?"

"If it's free," Albus said with a grin.

"You are a crafty one, you are," Pad replied with a playful wink, "no strings attached…this time."

Cormac gave him a nod to proceed.

"Why donya try askin' his widow? Put his name on the product, give her a piece of tha royalties, I don' think she will mind her husband's legacy being carried on past his passin'," he said with a smile.

"Does he have a widow?" Gas inquired.

"Yeah, but she doesn't have anything written down about Pratt's methods or procedures, I had it checked," Scorpius replied.

Rose gaped at him in horror. "You had someone break into a widow's house? Is there no limit to your depravity?"

"Says the girl who's got an Uncle with a personal motto about breaking the law, and just slipped into a heavily guarded school for fun, oh and who has more criminal contacts than even my father," Scorpius returned.

She tried several arguments but he was right and she knew it, so she resorted to her favourite retort and stuck out her tongue.

"Meanwhile, back on the subject," Albus reminded them, "I think she might be convinced if my father inquires, he's the most famous owner of a Firebolt, and if she finds out that "Mad-Man" Malfoy over here is going to be the pilot of the prototype, considering how he flew that Firebolt last year, I think she could be convinced."

"Harry Potter will sort it," Gas added in a tone that poorly disguised his obvious awe at Albus's father.

Albus found that he agreed with Gas, if anyone could figure a way through that conundrum his father could, he ruminated with a familiar surge of pride.

Suddenly he realized that everything had gone quiet. He got that odd prickling sensation on the back of his neck, he felt it at least twice before.

He looked up to see, sure enough his friends were frozen in place, and he was being watched very closely by three silent Leprechauns, and one irritated Cormac.

"Why did ya go and do tha' fer?" he complained.

"We need to examine his wand wit'out tha taters watchin'," Pat replied as they crossed the room to Albus.

Albus handed his wand over with shaking hands.

They did nothing to relieve his trepidation as they studied the carvings.

"Tha's his werk ahright," Paddy murmured as he traced the lines.

"Never seen tha like," Pad added with a reverent awe.

"Who carved it?" Albus inquired, his curiosity getting the better of his fear.

"Some one yer na ready ta know about, at least yet," Pat replied handing the wand back, "jes know that yer holdin' somethin' special. So take care of it."

"Of course," he responded, his mind already trying to see the implications.

"Are you sending your dad an owl, or what?" Rose inquired oblivious to the missing last few minutes.

"As soon as we're done here," Albus replied noticing that the Leprechauns where back across the room as if nothing had occurred.

"You are done here," Pat called holding up the newly carved stick, and the Twigger99 with the modified twigs.

It no longer had the black varnish that made it distinctively a Firebolt but its characteristics were still recognizable in the lines, Dinky's additions were all there and it looked like it was designed that way. Albus heard Scorpius's intake of breath as they brought it over.

"She's a pretty one, she is," Pad supplied as he handed it to Scorpius.

They all examined it, somehow the Leprechuans had carved it so perfectly that it looked machine smooth and as Albus ran his fingertips along it he was amazed at how even and flawless the lines, very little of the mass was lost except where the new grooves where and the art deco winged man looked like he grew out of the wood, what could have been garish was classy and effortless, and the twigs were shaped on a complicated swirling pattern that spiralled from the edges to the tip and gave the impression of speed.

"That's absolutely amazing!" Rose exclaimed as she looked up to see the bullfrog back on Cormac's shoulder and the other two little men gone. Cormac handed Dinky's plans back with a longsuffering sigh.

The bullfrog gave Rose a wink.

~0~

They stowed both brooms in Rose's charmed purse where the Firebolt had been for months anyway and they headed towards Chrys Euryale's tower, after a side visit to Nox in the Owlery, even though they found her workshop by accident a few months back, Rose believed she remembered the way there.

Gas and Cormac went on to breakfast with Scorpius, so no one would be suspicious.

Scorpius reluctantly parted with them, his eyes on Rose's bag like he was already feeling separation anxiety.

As they approached the mysterious workshop door they could hear some chipping noises, it sounded like Chrys was already at work.

Albus knocked.

"Coming," came the musical reply, "give me a moment, please."

The sound of a tarp being thrown over a large object was heard through the door and soon the clicks of latches being loosed.

She stuck her head out. "Yes? Ah, it's you two. Come to spy on me again?" She said with a good natured chuckle that made Albus smile.

Rose nudged him to stay on task. "We were wondering if you are a painter as well as a sculptor." Albus inquired feeling shy.

"I've been known to paint a canvas or two," she replied with a sparkling smile.

Rose pulled the broomsticks out after a quick check around, "We need someone to paint this stick and these twigs for us, and it has to look like a professional manufacturer did the job."

Chrys suddenly turned all business. "Let me take a look."

She whistled. "This is beautiful carving," she mused as she turned it over in her hand, "looks like fairy work, Leprechauns maybe, I hope you didn't do any deals with them."

"We have a friend who is related, h-he dealt with them for us," Albus stammered.

Rose handed over Dinky's plans as the elder lady set the brooms to the side. Chrys perused the image with an appreciative smile. "I think I know what you need…"

She traced her finger over the writing. "You are calling her the Icarus?" she inquired her voice strangely distant.

"That's what our crazy elf designer decided to call her," Rose answered for a speechless Albus.

"What colour do you want her to be?" Chrys inquired, tucking the plans under her arm.

Albus was staring when Rose gave him a little punch on his shoulder to wake him up. "What colour?" she hissed.

He rubbed his shoulder and glared at her as he responded. "Where were thinking black, but whatever you decide will be fine."

Chrys nodded her eyes already on the task ahead. "I have something in mind; I know you'll like it."

"Th-thank you for doing this for us, Chrys," Albus managed.

Rose nodded her agreement.

"Come see me in a few days, I needed a break from all this carving anyway," Chrys replied.

She waved goodbye and with a click of the door and some latches thrown, the meeting was over.

"She's a mysterious one," Rose grumbled.

"What do you mean?" Albus winged.

"She never mingles with anyone, she just stays up in that tower and carves, I hear she didn't even take a commission, I wonder what she's up to," Rose speculated.

"She's a nice lady, sometimes people are exactly who they appear to be," Albus replied with venom in his tone.

"We're Potter-Weasleys, Albus, we know better," Rose shot back.

Albus had to sigh at that, he reluctantly nodded his agreement.

~0~

They went on down to the Great Hall and saw that Diana was waiting with Scorpius at the table, Gas and Cormac were already gone.

"There you two are," she accused, her mood obviously not improved from the day she heard about the theft of the SkyBolt.

Albus checked Scorpius's expression and saw the aristocratic-cold one that indicated that things were not well.

_Not good!_

To Diana he asked, "What can we do for you?"

"Tell me you're buying a broom, I heard a rumour that you crazy lot are making your own, I won't risk our season on a bunch of second years trying to cobble together something from scraps from Hagrid's woodpile!"

Albus found his anger was rising up, for once; Rose was the one that put a restraining hand on his arm, showing she was still nervous about what he nearly did to James.

"We are working on something, no, it's not cobbled together, if you doubt it, come see when we fly it in front of the ministry!" he said through gritted teeth.

"They moved up the match, Ravenclaw's request," Scorpius said with a sigh, "It's going to be in two weeks."

"Elanor's work I bet, first I have to deal with a deficit that you caused by dropping the Snitch, now I have to worry that a bunch of second years are gonna try flying their craft project at the next match against our biggest rival!" Diana growled. "I must've been mental to let a bunch of sprouts on my team!"

"You weren't mental, you were desperate, and those sprouts brought the Quidditch trophy home last year. I never heard a complaint from you then! There's more at stake here than Quidditch," Albus informed, "if you don't know that by now then you're a bigger idiot than your acting like right now! So how about supporting your team rather then adding to the pressure? Cause we're not who you're mad at!"

Diana gaped at Albus, surprised at his tone.

The tension at the table was thick, but for once Albus did not feel like backing down.

"Alright, tell me when, I want to see this for myself," Diana said after an internal struggle, she looked as if she wanted to say more but settled for stalking off.

Scorpius gave Albus a once over like he had never seen him before. "You are related to Rose Weasley after all. That was nasty."

Rose chuckled. "I think James must have broken something loose the other day! I mean if I'm the voice of reason!"

Albus sat down with a sigh.

_It wasn't James, it was Professor Flint._

"Sorry," he mumbled, a wave of weariness rolled over him and he felt a little bit sick.

"It's alright," Rose said with a hand on his back showing her concern, "but just so you know, Malboy is the evil one and I'm the one with the temper, you're supposed to be the good guy that keeps us out of trouble, yeah? So stay on your side of the fence."

"Yeah," Scorpius added, "we all have roles here, Albus, leave the sharp-tongue-making-little-girls-cry stuff to Rose, I'll handle the downfall of the wizard world, thank you very much!"

They all exchanged a glance and a snigger and suddenly everything was all right.

He glanced across to the Ravenclaw table and saw Elanor Ferraro, hair still abnormally short from Poppy's spell, holding court with the petite Beater Isla Pettit, together they ruled the Eagle's Quidditch team. They were looking rather smug at the conflict within the Hufflepuffs.

Rose followed Albus's eyes. "I've volunteered as a reserve for the next game, by the way, we need all the help we can get if we're going to wipe that grin off Elanor's face."

"So," Scorpius began in a familiar teasing tone, "you won't play Quidditch for the sake of your house, or family pride, even though your tops at it, but you'll be all in for revenge?"

Rose gave him a sweet smile that somehow managed to be evil. "I'm a Badger, as far as I'm concerned, they're the ones asking for it. If they left us alone, then we would stay on the bottom where they want us, but they keep kicking dirt down the burrow hole, they need to know there is a price to be paid for messing with the lot down in the Cellar."

Scorpius seemed to be surprised that she had a good reply. He mock saluted her with a banger on the end of his fork, reminding Albus that they were there for breakfast after all.

He asked for some hotcakes and soon he was working his way through a stack.

Albus saw James and a gaggle of Gryffs down at the end of the red table.

"I thought it was time for the first Hogsmead weekend? It's James's first year to go, why isn't he bundling up?

"Cancelled," Rose replied, "Dom said there've been disappearances down that way, should be sorted soon, but they've postponed. That reminds me; I never asked how things went with Professor Flint and James."

Albus made a face. "About as bad as expected, I really don't want to talk about it."

Rose read his expression and to his relief she let the matter go.

Her unexpected reticence earned another look of surprise from Scorpius. "Offering restraint in an argument, not rising to the bait, now you're letting gossip go without even a chew on the bone…where is the real Rose Weasley, what have you done with her?"

"Just shut it," she grumbled.

Albus rolled his eyes.

_Okay…Now we're back to normal._

~o0o~

Now that things were stalled with the Icarus, until Chrys Euryale was done painting, and Albus's Dad sent him a return note, Albus turned his mind to his other conundrum.

How to stop being blown up in Potions!

In a strange way, knowing what Flint was expecting of him made the task at hand more surmountable. He had two obstacles to overcome, Liam Donovan, Azure Gorman.

He had talked until he was blue in the face with Azure, pleaded more like it and was getting nowhere, maybe he was focused on the wrong one.

He gave it some thought all that Saturday and Sunday, Rose and Scorpius gave him the space he needed, which meant they argued without including him.

They bundled up for a walk out on the grounds that Sunday, winter was looming and the leaves were beginning to vacate their perches, Halloween was at the end of the week and preparations were underway among the swirling leaves.

They came back inside later with wind reddened cheeks and cherry noses, passing Ghosts discussing ominous plans cheerfully.

There were enough decorative cobwebs already that Albus thought they should check for an Acromantula invasion. Knowing Hagrid…that would be a valid concern!

For the first moment in his time at Hogwarts he was considering the enigma that is Liam Donovan with something besides wariness.

_Secretive, solitary, bored, creeeeeeeeepy!_

They entered the Great Hall with it's swirling over head sky for lunch with Albus still deep in thought. He sat there picking at his shepherd's pie while considering his options.

_He's not someone you can bribe, or coerce, or reason with…he just wants to be left alone…_

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Albus and a slow smile touched his lips.

"Finally, the Sphinx gets a clue, gonna share with the rest of the class, Albus?" Scorpius quipped.

"Not if he can stretch out the drama," Rose said with a snigger.

"Follow my lead, and ask no questions," Albus murmured, he picked up his food and goblet of pumpkin juice and made his way over to the Ravenclaw table.

Liam was seated near the most deserted end eating his food like the necessity it is, and showing no pleasure in the act.

"Hey Liam, what are we going to do on this fine bright sunny day?" he inquired giving the thin boy a slap on the shoulder as he settled in. Scorpius sat to Liam's left and Rose across. "Yeah, mate, what's the plan?" Scorpius added.

Rose sat with her elbows on the table, her chin rested in her hands giving Liam an uncomfortable amount of scrutiny, batting her eyelashes like he was the only boy in the world.

Liam turned to Albus with his eyes narrowing. "Are you lost?"

"Just sitting with my good friend, nothing mental about that, as a matter of fact I intend to keep sitting with you, because that's what pals do, right?" Albus inquired with a sly smile.

"What do you want?" Liam inquired through gritted teeth.

"Potions, participate, that's all. Just do your part and you'll never have to endure my companionship again. You have my word."

"Oh I don't know, he's really kinda cute," Rose cut in smiling to show her dimples.

The back of Liam's neck turned red as he noticed the older Ravenclaws giving him the eye.

"Done…leave…now!" he growled as he went back to attacking his plate of food.

They took their things back to Hufflepuff territory.

"He's kinda cute?" Scorpius asked Rose with a raised eyebrow.

"Bad boys always are," Rose replied with a wink.

"Will you two cut that out," Albus hissed.

~o0o~

The next day, Monday morning in Herbology, Albus was so nervous that when it came to pot his Mandrake root he dropped the little bugger; the screaming was so bad it cracked the glass enclosure and brought wizards from all over the Arboretum to check who got caught by the Umbridge Weed.

Professor Longbottom cooed and gentled the little root and calmed it down before potting it himself, everyone had ear and nosebleeds in spite of the ear protection and stared daggers at Albus as they left for the day. He especially worried about the Slytherins and watched for an ambush as they took off the protective gear but to his relief all the snakes cleared out of the airlock with just mumbled threats.

Soon it was Potions, and Albus had his fingers crossed, he even thought about using the coin around his neck, but not for something so trivial.

Liam slouched in and sat with his arms crossed utterly bored as usual, Azure crept in just before Professor Flint made his own entrance, showing no enthusiasm for the class ahead.

Albus hoped that Liam's participation would convince her to act as a team, but there was no way of knowing if it would improve the situation or make it worse.

Flint came in, Albus cringed looking for sign of the anger he saw the other night, but the man was inscrutable as ever.

"Today we are going to brew one of the most complicated potions in your entire syllabus," he called over his shoulder as he began writing the ingredients. "I am hoping if some of you learn to brew your own Pepper-Up Potion, I won't have to spend the entire next quarter stirring a kettle."

He spun around and gave the class intense scrutiny. "This potion is extremely volatile because of the powdered Dragon Bladder necessary to give it the Pepper, so I suggest that you all work very closely together, otherwise there will be property damage and Pomfrey visits, am I making myself clear?"

He was answered by a chorus of nods.

He began writing the ingredients, and Azure began to horde them as usual.

Suddenly a hand shot out and pulled the vials from her arms.

She turned to glare at Liam but he gave her a cold eyed stare that cause Albus to be nervous. "Potter is forcing me to help. So, you can measure the ingredients while I stir, but he's going to be in charge of the brewing. He's always tried to reason with you, but I'm not him. I have no intention of spending time in the medical wing because you can't brew your way out of a wet paper sack!"

"Fine," she hissed as she slid the rest of the vials over to Albus.

To his surprise, Liam expertly started the kettle and filled it with the medium, set the different ladles out by his hand, crossed his arms and glowered at the board. Azure set up the scales and huffed at Albus like it was his fault.

Albus just shrugged, if it meant he was headed to the next class without burn scars then he was all for being her villain.

However, once they got underway, a change occurred.

He called out the instructions and handed the vials to Azure, she with her Ravenclaw meticulousness, measured the portions and handed them to Liam, the silver haired boy put them in just as he was instructed, used the ladle required with no hesitation, and even added in an extra stir clockwise before Albus had to suggest it showing obvious skill.

He realized with a feeling of disquiet that the reason for Liam's boredom might not be disinterest like he first thought, but that second year work offered no challenge for his skill level.

Others around the room had trouble with the assignment; Flint had to intervene more than once.

After one particular close call at Rose's table, (Gas, too busy watching Rachel brushing out her hair, made the wrong stir at the wrong time causing a yellow noxious cloud that was beginning to spread across the entire room) he returned to the front to find Albus at his desk with a red vial that was steaming perfectly.

"I think we're done, Professor Flint, can we leave now?"

Flint studied the vial carefully. "How did you circumvent the brewing time between the fifth and sixth step?" he inquired black eyes piercing in their intensity.

"It was Liam's idea, you add in a bit of ground Salamander scale and it acts as a catalyst heating the potion quicker, allowing for more heat on the burner," Albus replied, trying not to be smug about it.

"Very well," Flint replied.

As Albus left he watched for some sign of approval from Flint, but the man barely acknowledged his exit.

Albus supposed that it was enough that they understood each other finally.

As they walked out into the corridor, Azure was a lot more chipper, but still did not even bother giving Albus the satisfaction of a "have a good day"; Liam just slinked off as usual.

For once Albus was the one waiting for Rose and Scorpius after Potions class, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

~0~

Defence Against Dark Arts class seemed to drag on for once, Albus couldn't wait to talk to Rose and Scorpius, he knew the potions brewing was a tough one so he doubted they got much of a look at his table as it finally managing a stir without disaster.

He wanted to tell them while they walked between classes but he had to leave before they got out, a bad sign that their tables were not as triumphant to be sure.

Furthermore, The Defence class was a rare book work and some dry theory concerning the structure of shield charms, their uses and limitations, including diagrams and discussions on application, which did not allow him the ability to chat with his two friends at anytime during the hour and half.

Even though they never touched their wands, this class was still more exciting than any of Pharrel's lessons from the year before…notwithstanding that he was a Dark Wizard trying to undermine their ability to defend themselves which made most of his lessons suspect anyway.

They got the rare class time visit from Gwahir, who sat on Professor Cody's shoulder eyeing the class with imperious disdain, the snowy white plumage on his head and tail feathers bright against the darker brown on his body and wings. However, any assumption that this was a mere pet was put to rest when you noticed the long talons and sharp beak!

Albus wondered at the connection between the man and the magnificent bird, during the silences while the pupils copied the latest information off the board, Cody and his partner walked a short distance away to a tower window and seemed to have wordless discussions with their heads nearly touching, staring out at the panorama.

The bird turned and his bright topaz eyes passed over the room while Cody's back was turned causing Albus to suspect that they were under scrutiny at all times.

Cody confirmed his suspicion.

"Mister Potter, those notes aren't going to copy themselves," he called without even bothering to turn around.

Albus bent to the task sheepishly ignoring all the curious eyes.

After class, Albus stifled his desire to tell Rose and Scorpius his good news when he saw how dejected they were about their own efforts. His dampened mood fit in with the other two and it was one dour trio that arrived at lunch in the Great Hall.

~0~

They made it through the afternoon and the evening with no word from Chrys Euryale or Albus's Dad. Until they did, there was nothing more to be done with the Icarus.

They worked on Transfiguration homework that evening and turned into bed early.

Albus could not help but feel that things were going well, but as his Uncle Percy was fond of saying, "Even when things are good, Albus, remember trouble is just an owl drop away, so never be so excited that you're not wary, or so guarded that you can't feel joy."

Yes, it was safe to say that Uncle Percy was fun at parties. Unfortunately, his adage had proven true more than once.

~o0o~

The flurry of Owls at breakfast the next day caused a sensation.

You could always tell when something was happening in the Wizard World from the volume of the murmuring at breakfast, if it was a low hum then all was well, but if it was hard to hear the person next to you, find a Daily Prophet fast!

Albus did not have to search out a paper, Roarke swept in and dropped one in his lap, demanding payment in his usual swaggering manner, the owl stood on the headlines until he was fed a sausage, Albus obliged him, just like everyone else did, no wonder he had an ego the size of Hagrid's uncle!

The picture revealed as he took off clued Albus in to what was causing the stir, the headline below the picture was anti-climatic. This was a scandal for sure, and it made his stomach lurch.

He saw his relatives at Gryffindor table debating who was going to break the news to Rose but leaving it to him, the cowards.

He sighed, she would rather hear it from him anyway, but if it was this big of a shock to him, then it was going to be devastating to her.

"What's tha scam, Albus?" Scorpius inquired with a yawn.

He slid the picture over and watched as his friend's eyes widened, grew incredulous, then wary as they both turned to Rose.

Her hair looked like a Hippogryff's nest, and she was making growling noises as she attacked her English breakfast as if it had caused a personal affront.

"What?" she hissed as she caught their scrutiny.

Albus slid the paper over.

The picture was of a preening witch holding up a copy of a book, beside her was a tall gangly boy about two years older than Rose, the caption read:

_**Lavender Brown drops a bombshell! "For those who doubt what I said in "My Life with Won Won" here he is, Baxter Brown, my lovechild with Ronald Weasley."**_

"Not good," Rose declared in a shock tinged voice.

"Couldn't have said it better," Albus added with a sigh.

_Thanks a lot Uncle Percy!_

* * *

**Thought of the Day: **We live in a tabloid culture...if you scoff at that try watching the news around the royal wedding! I'm wondering what other controversies and so called tabloid sordid scandals have occurred or are going to occur around Harry Potter and his equally famous immediate family. So why don't you guys come up with some? Try to keep it to three each, please.

Also, no vulgarity please...the acts might be suggestive but try to write them like you would a headline not wrapped in black paper at the news stand LOL!

**Bart**


	17. Chapter 17 It Happened One Halloween

**Where we are so far...**

**Chapter One: **Albus takes a walk in Diagon and finds out something about his wand.

**Chapter Two: **Albus overhears a meeting and finally tells his dad what has been going on.

**Chapter Three: **Albus meets the cousin no one talks about.

**Chapter Four: **Scorpius's birthday party, and the beginning of trouble in the trio.

**Chapter Five: **Trip to Hogwart's and meeting the new DADA professor.

**Chapter Six: **The Sorting, new professors and the first prank against Hufflepuff.

**Chapter Seven: **Albus has one off the worst first days in history!

**Chapter Eight: **Conversation with Orion, Kublai takes a stroll and the second big prank against Hufflepuff.

**Chapter Nine: **Scorpius lives up to his nickname and Dom gets hurt.

**Chapter Ten: **Scorpius gets suspended for one game, Albus finally gives him his birthday present and gets some unwelcome news!

**Chapter Eleven: **A midnight conversation and a new friend.

**Chapter Twelve: **Sometimes the help is worse than the challenge, Albus decides on a plan.

**Ch**a**pter Thirteen: **Quidditch flying against James, the final straw between brothers, and the hole in the orchard**.***

**Chapter Fourteen: **While coming to grips about the revelations of the day, Albus is informed of a theft and the truth about Gryffindor.

**Chapter Fifteen: **A plan for a new broom, a conversation with Professor Flint, brotherly advice from JAMES!

**Chapter Sixteen: **Potions class finally gets on the right track, a revelation about Uncle Ron

*****For those of you that have yet to read "The Day that Changed Everything" shame on you, get over there! LOL! Kidding, it's your choice but I think you're missing something if you don't.

**NEW POLL! **Thankyou all for participating in my last poll. Cormac was by far your favorite YotB OC with 24% of the vote, followed by Freya Bast with 16%, the Violent Sisters bludgeoned their way into second with 14%, and creeping in to forth place was Liam Donovan with 13% just ahead of our resident enigmatic professor Flint with 11%

**The new poll:** I plan on writing a new character piece concerning someone in my universe, if you don't see a story idea here, submit it and I'll add it to my poll if I like it. Outlandish ideas or those involving Edward Cullen will immediately be erased from all living memory with no comment!

**NEW BANNERS **One of my readers, MissGriffin inquired about making banners for my projects. She has a style that is rooted in Japanese Anime, PowerPuff Girls in particular, she calls them PotterPuffs and I hope you will show her your appreciation with a PM or a note in the review because she did some amazing work. Both Links to the Banners and one to her profile are on my profile:

She has also drawn another scene from BBS which I will include on my profile as soon as I have a link so stay tuned!

I hope all these things will keep people happy while I am going through a rough patch. This Chapter was hard fought and I eventually realized it was not going any further, so I hope it is enjoyable. The first flight of the Icarus is next chapter which should be done either this week or the next so hang in there with me!

**Bart**

**All characters and this universe belong to JK and her SCARY LAWYERS!**

* * *

**Albus Potter and the Black Badger Society**

**Chapter 17: It Happened One Halloween...**

Halloween had not always been Albus's favourite holiday; some of the worst pranks pulled on him fell on that night.

Sticking him to the ceiling of number twelve Grimmauld's Great Room when he was six, the great Dementor-in-the-closet scare when he was four, the horrendous Skiving Snack Box treat replacement when he was seven that turned him into a puss riddled, fevered giant yellow canary with a nosebleed for six hours...the list went on and on.

However, one of the most interesting occurrences on Halloween night was not a prank.

When Albus was five, the Weasley kids had decided on a hide and go seek game with a pile of recently acquired treats as the reward for the winning team. The party was at Grimmauld that year and when Albus's team took its turn, Albus found a door that he had never seen in his venerable home before, his usual cautious nature was overridden by the sounds of his pursuers capturing one of his team, he slipped through the door.

Suddenly he realized that he was in a strange hallway, he turned around to go back out the door only to find it was gone, and there was an elaborate mirror and credenza where it had been.

His stomach gave a lurch as he turned to see rooms lining the hall and another corridor at the end. Thinking that he would find a door back to the house he knew, he ran down to hallway not even pausing to look though the doorways as he passed.

That corridor led to another corridor, then to yet another and he finally found a doorway, he went through it to find he was standing at the original hallway with the mirror and credenza.

He began to explore the doors and found other bedrooms, some opulent with lavish fabrics in blues and greens, purples and reds, shades of gold and silver, others simple striped patterns, with Spartan furnishings, he found one that reminded him of his own room and curled up on the bed and chewed his lip with worry.

Suddenly there was a pop, recognizing the sound he spun around to see the venerable old elf, Kreacher. "Young Master? Why are you all the way over here?" Kreacher inquired, his welcoming bullfrog like voice sounded like music in Albus's ears.

He launched himself over to little creature, giving it a bone crushing hug which it protested, before grabbing his hand apparating him to main room where the kids and adults were all gathered, his team had him a bag of treats ready since he was never found and they won.

"That wasn't fair!" James protested, "Next time the Extendable is off limits!"

He got a speculative look. "Why didn't you come back when we gave up, Albus?"

Albus shrugged trying to look nonchalant.

"He got lost! He got lost in his own house!" Fred crowed, suddenly his cousins were all having a laugh. Albus's ears grew red in embarrassment when his dad nudged him and said, "Don't worry Albus, if you need to go to the loo, I've got a map you can use."

After that clever bit of levity, Albus had to join in with the good natured laughter.

The running joke at Grimmauld anytime that Albus was missing for a minute was "check the Extendable."

~o~

Now it was Halloween night at Hogwarts and the feast was in full swing, charmed bats flying over head, the vision of the sky outside had been charmed to show Dementors flying overhead in a cloudy backdrop with bat-winged dragons under a blue tinged moon, the Hall was festooned with cobwebs, creepy looking giant Acromatulas (hopefully fake…Who knows with Hagrid involved!) speaking to anyone close in a chilling whisper, falling colourful leafs from long limbed trees Neville grew in pots by the windows forming a canopy up the sides and over head and Hagrid's monstrous pumpkins leered from the corners looking like they were carved by a demented funhouse sadist. All of the ghosts were looking as ghastly as possible, a change for Nearly Headless Nick, and not so much difference in the Bloody Baron. The only apparitions that were not there were Peeves, as always unfailingly pursued by Filch, who were last seen in the dungeon levels.

Even in the midst of such spectacle, there was a lot to distract the minds of the Weasley children.

The thought there was a cousin out there none of them had ever met, and he was the son of their impulsive but reliable Uncle Ron was staggering.

It was a poorly kept secret in the family, that in spite of their non stop pyrotechnic arguments, he and Aunt Hermione loved each other passionately, to think he betrayed that indelible connection was unthinkable, especially since he had yet to deny Lavender Brown's assertions publicly, and they all had gotten owls from home telling them to not to jump to conclusions…which was an invitation to do just that!

Rose had yet to show any emotion whatsoever which was freaking Albus and Scorpius out, they both were warily trying to draw her out but all they would get were vapid comments like, "It's alright, I'm sure there is a explanation, not sure what that is, but it will all turn out fine." She had laughed off classmates and upperclassmen's attempts to elicit a response from her.

Albus worried who she was saving all her anger for.

He told those words to Dominique and saw the flash of concern that he felt in her eyes, but his cousin who had always handled Rose better than anyone else just told him to, "Let her work it out, but step in if there is any bloodshed!"

With those ominous words ringing in his ears, Albus was also keeping on eye on Chrys's tower.

The messages that Gas was getting back from his "Aunt" in the Ministry for Underage Magic where that the viewing of the hopefully finished Icarus was due that very weekend, but as of yet, no word from the reclusive artist.

At the feast, they had just completed the traditional Halloween toasts and had their meal amidst place settings of ghastly cracked plates and leaky goblets that never seemed to stain the dusty ruined looking table cloths, when suddenly Shacklebolt stood.

"This year I called in some favours to acquire for us a little evening entertainment."

He and the other professors left the dais, with a swipe of his wand the tables and chairs marched off the platform, suddenly there was the peal of an electrified lute in a familiar tune.

"Was that…" Albus murmured.

"Check James," Rose replied from the other side of Scorpius.

Albus glanced over to his brother to see him standing on his seat jumping up and down in excitement all pretence to coolness gone.

"Yep," Albus said with a smile and a wince, as there was a high wailing shriek to make a Banshee envious, "_Hexus Brothers_."

He glanced across to see Iris Ivy craning her neck to see where that horrible noise was emanating from; she like most Muggleborns had never heard the opening bars to "_Spelling Your Doom_" and Albus had a hunch she would never forget it.

Sure enough there was a bright explosion of green vapour and Rheinhardt, Rollo, and Rick were suddenly there, Rick was beating thunderously on his kettle drums while Rollo looked like he was throttling his lute out of a personal grudge, Reinhardt slapping on his upright bass spun it so fast it disappeared in a blur then stopped it on cue in an amazing show of showmanship and began to belt:

_In the darkest night,_

_I'll be your fright,_

_I'm spelling your doom,_

_In the absence of light,_

_You'll be holding me tight,_

_But I'm spelling your doom!_

The tables all marched to the side of the room leaving a dance floor which was immediately taken advantage of; those who were not dancing, braved the nose and ear bleeds, hastily applying impervious charms to glasses and crowded close to the stage cheering the band on.

Madam Pomfrey would be busy re-growing eardrums and fixing aneurisms the next few days for sure!

Rose tugged on Scorpius's sleeve, "Dance with me!"

He shrugged, "I don't dance, sweetheart, but by all means feel free!"

She rolled her eyes, suddenly a voice remarked, "I dance."

They turned to see that Kian Kerry was standing there with an uncharacteristic smile, offering Rose a hand.

She gave Scorpius a shrug and took the hand and soon she and Kerry were carving out their own spot, taking part as everybody broke into the _Kettle Krawl _in elaborate line formations.

Albus glanced at his friend and saw he had shut down his expression like he was hiding something. "What's the matter, Scorpius, you don't know how to dance?"

His friend glared at him, "I'm a Malfoy, the only parties we were invited to were ones that we threw ourselves, only attended by my Grandfather's pureblood associates. People so old they predate Merlin, when would I have learned anything like that?" he pointed at the groups swinging their legs around in unison then grabbing shoulders for the turn.

Albus sighed, "I can't dance either, but that's because I cause bruises anytime I try," he gave his friend a crooked grin, "you lament not being invited to stuff, I used to wish I didn't have to go, want to make some _Polyjuice Potion_ and switch?"

Scorpius nudged his friend's shoulder, "then I would get stuck looking like you…no thanks."

Albus gave him the glare he was lobbying for then they had a little laugh as the Hexus Brothers broke into a ballad…well…what passed as one for them…it was called "_You Jinxed My Heart, For That I Curse You_" what a romantic lot!

He almost did not see the man at his shoulder in the bedlam; wearing a long robe with a hood up as most of the professors and staff.

"Albus!"

He recognized the voice.

"Uncle Ron?"

The hooded figure inclined his head in response, "I need to speak to you and your cousins, especially my little girl, gather them will ya? Meet me down in the kitchen."

"There are knives there," Albus reminded.

"East Wing, first classroom on the left, good thinking," His uncle amended with a sheepish grin," see you there in ten minutes."

Albus hurried around tugging sleeves, he had trouble with Dominique, who was so entwined with Grayson Wood they resembled the Umbridge Weed! He got her to untangle when he whispered in her ear, whom it was that wanted to see them.

Her jaw clenched angrily and she stalked off to summon Molly, Lucy and Roxy from where they were standing picking out boys to dance with next. Those three stalked off after her with angry swish of robes, it was not looking good for his Uncle.

James was so close to the stage that Albus had to plug his ears with a wad of candle wax before he could brave the stage, but his brother's ears were already too damaged to hear what Albus was saying and he could not stand the noise when Rollo went into a bone shattering lute solo that nearly decapitated anyone in range, he stumbled away and tugged on Fred's sleeve, he could not even hear his own voice as he told him who was there to see them and where the meeting was.

Fred told him he would see to Rose, just in case physical intervention was necessary.

At least that was what he thought Fred said.

His hearing was beginning to return by the time he got to the classroom indicated, there was silence as he entered to see his cousins all glaring at the pensive man who was standing apart pacing nervously.

"Hi, Albus, thanks for getting everyone," he stated with a smile.

Albus did not know how he felt, so he just made his tone business like when he replied, "James is too close to the stage, he won't be hearing anything for a week or more, but Fred is fetching Rose for us, he wants to make sure he can keep her from hexing you into a puddle of goo."

Uncle Ron snorted. "She's her mother's child!"

All of the cousins glanced at each other with clandestine smiles at that statement, because everyone knew where Rose got her temperamental, impulsive streak from and it wasn't her mum.

"So is there going to be a blood test?" Roxy inquired.

"A parentage charm?" Molly added.

Lucy broke in inquiring, "Why wasn't he at Hogwarts with us?"

Uncle Ron was evidently prepared for such a grilling when he answered, "Lavender refused a Muggle blood test since the results could be easily altered by magic, and the boy is a Squib which negates the parentage charm and answers your other question."

The door opened and he turned. "Rosie!" he called just before a jet of red light struck him full in the chest powered by a roar of rage.

He knocked over a row of desks and landed in a heap.

Fred sighed his pointless cautionary hand still on Rose's shoulder as she stood with wand hand still extended.

"Feeling better there, Rosie?" he inquired with a sigh.

She was still breathing heavy, face flushed. "It's a start."

They propped Uncle Ron up and Dominique woke him with a quick _Enervate._

"Whatdya have to go and do that for?" Uncle Ron grumbled rubbing a sore spot on the back of his head.

"You tell me," Rose replied over her shoulder, her back to her father as she stared out at the sky. "What are you doing at Hogwarts anyway?"

"Someone had to escort the band, thought I'd come and explain in person, didn't know I'd have to defend myself from my own daughter!" he replied indignantly.

"You had a child by another woman, in this family, you're lucky to still be breathing!" Rose shot back.

Ron stood and straightened his robes, looking a bit like his brother Percy at that moment. "That's the very thing I need to explain! You know me, you all know me, I would never hurt Mione that way. I just don't have it in me."

"Start at the beginning," Albus encouraged, trying to put things on a less dangerous footing.

"I don't remember the night Lavender said it happened, that's just it," Ron replied, "It was while Mione was studying Wizard Law, we had yet another one of our big rows because I wanted her to take the night off for Halloween and she wanted to study for an exam that wasn't until the next week!

I left to down a few dozen fire whiskeys, next thing I knew I was waking up beside that awful woman, I think she spiked one of my whiskeys, even drunk I would have never have slept with her otherwise!

Me and Mione were only engaged at that point, I kept dragging my heels because…well I just knew I'd screw things up and lose her forever if we ever got married…but when I told her everything, she just…forgave me…

I insisted she get mad, but she laughed and told me that it wasn't my fault, Lavender was the type to spike a drink to get what she wanted; I was just being Ron Weasley for accepting it.

That's when I realized that no matter what I did, we would make it…not because I would ever be good enough for her, but because of who she is. I realized I would never find another woman who would put up with me and I decided then and there I had to be with her forever.

We got married the next day in a civil ceremony, some Warlock at the Hall of Records. Mum still hasn't forgiven me for not having a wedding for our actual vows; we had a big ceremony at the Burrow later that month so mum would stop sending me Howlers."

He paused and looked his daughter in the eye, so she could see how earnestly he meant his next words as he added, "The scare with Lavender is why I finally went through with the marriage after all those near misses. I can't feel bad about it because it finally gave me the courage to marry the woman of my dreams. I'm reminded of that lost night everyday when I see where I am now, with the perfect wife, and two children I love more than anything. That's why I never pressed charges then, and that's also why I can't take Veritaserum and openly refute her now."

Albus suddenly heard a sobbing noise, he turned and Rose was covering her face with the sleeve of her robes, he saw that his female cousins were all sniffling and Fred's eyes were glistening as well.

With a nod of his head, Fred indicated that they should all leave the father and daughter alone, and they all gave their Uncle Ron a hug and left as he walked up and embraced his daughter, speaking to her in quiet tones.

Out in the Hall they could hear the thump of Rick Hexus's kettle drums this far from the Great Hall in the silence between them.

He saw Scorpius waiting across the Hallway, perched in a large window sill with Kublai purring in his lap, he made his way over.

"All sorted?" Scorpius murmured.

Albus had to sigh as he gave the big Himalayan's ears a scratch.

"For now."

Scorpius nodded. "I never liked the Hexus Brothers, they always make my brain hurt. So after you left, I toddled on back to The Cellar and found that Professor Euryale had been there. The broom was wrapped and propped up against the mantel with a note wishing us luck, so I came to find you and Rose, Kub always seems to know where people are."

"Not a moment too soon!" Albus replied, "The Ministry's going to be here to see it Friday, and the games on Saturday."

Scorpius got quiet while Kub purred. "You still think this is going to work?"

Albus shrugged. "No idea, but we're committed at this point."

"You mean, we should be committed for trying it," Scorpius ribbed with a grin.

Albus smiled back. "That too."

Father and daughter came out of the classroom shortly thereafter arm and arm chuckling like they had an inside joke.

Ron glanced up. "Oh, hi there, Malfoy."

Rose gave her dad a small punch on the shoulder, "His name is Scorpius!"

He winced and amended, "I meant Scorpius, sorry, you look so much like your dad I always feel an urge to grab my wand."

Rose gaped at him and then glowered dangerously, but Scorpius defused the situation, "That's alright, Mister Weasley, I look so much like my dad, I wish I could hex myself too sometimes."

Ron laughed uproariously and slapped the narrow shoulders of the blond haired boy as he passed." Never thought I'd like a Malfoy, you kids have fun!"

"He has to get back to the concert and make sure the Hexus's Brother's still have their cloaks, they were nearly stripped bare in Prague last month," Rose informed with a snort.

"So…Does Aunt Hermione have a plan?" Albus asked with a sly grin.

Rose did that little nose crinkle as she rubbed Kub's ears to his affirming purrs.

"I suddenly feel sorry for Lavender what's-her-name! Let's go take a look at the broom," Scorpius interjected.

"Oh it's here?" Rose stated, "Why didn't you say something?"

"I had to wait until the family drama was over, as usual," Scorpius returned with a sneer calculated to wind Rose up.

She gave him the glower he was lobbying for before inquiring, "You sure you don't want to finish the concert?"

"Uncle Ron told us to have fun," Albus stated with a nod towards the distant barely muted cacophony, "Hogwarts hasn't heard anything like that since the battle, any more of their "music" and I think I would come down with a bad case of brain damage!"

"They are James's favourite band after all," Rose reminded him with a cheeky smile.

Scorpius winced. "If that's not a rousing endorsement, I don't know what is!"

* * *

**Thought of the Day: **Why are the relationships that matter the most the most difficult to maintain in good standing. Is it because there is so much at stake the pressure causes us to try too hard? Like Ron in this story, I have second guessed those dear to me because of my own failings when I should have just accepted there are two persons with an equal stake. Is this caused by selfishness, fear, or low self-esteem?


	18. Chapter 18 The Last Firebolt

**Where we are so far...**

**Chapter One: **Albus takes a walk in Diagon and finds out something about his wand.

**Chapter Two: **Albus overhears a meeting and finally tells his dad what has been going on.

**Chapter Three: **Albus meets the cousin no one talks about.

**Chapter Four: **Scorpius's birthday party, and the beginning of trouble in the trio.

**Chapter Five: **Trip to Hogwart's and meeting the new DADA professor.

**Chapter Six: **The Sorting, new professors and the first prank against Hufflepuff.

**Chapter Seven: **Albus has one of the worst first days in history!

**Chapter Eight: **Conversation with Orion, Kublai takes a stroll and the second big prank against Hufflepuff.

**Chapter Nine: **Scorpius lives up to his nickname and Dom gets hurt.

**Chapter Ten: **Scorpius gets suspended for one game, Albus finally gives him his birthday present and gets some unwelcome news!

**Chapter Eleven: **A midnight conversation and a new friend.

**Chapter Twelve: **Sometimes the help is worse than the challenge, Albus decides on a plan.

**Ch**a**pter Thirteen: **Quidditch flying against James, the final straw between brothers, and the hole in the orchard**.***

**Chapter Fourteen: **While coming to grips about the revelations of the day, Albus is informed of a theft and the truth about Gryffindor.

**Chapter Fifteen: **A plan for a new broom, a conversation with Professor Flint, brotherly advice from JAMES!

**Chapter Sixteen: **Potions class finally gets on the right track, a revelation about Uncle Ron

**Chapter Seventeen:** Uncle Ron explains and the broom arrives!

*****For those of you that have yet to read "The Day that Changed Everything" shame on you, get over there! LOL! Kidding, it's your choice but I think you're missing something if you don't.

**Chapter Notes: **Long time no see. My excuse...don't have one...sorry just trying to get back on the horse.

Since has removed the links option and I don't know when it will come back, so all my cool banners and content are no longer available. This distresses me because I have some really talented people's work listed there and it kills me that it won't be available until they get things back up. If I could Hex the crap out of whomever put the tainted content up that caused this ban I would! (Worse I would sic my Rose on them!)

Anyway, I'm back, no promises but I'm still here and plugging away.

**Bart**

**All characters and this universe belong to JK and her SCARY LAWYERS!**

* * *

**Albus Potter and the Black Badger Society**

**Chapter 18: The Last Firebolt...**

The broomstick was leaned against the wall in the chilly, abandoned classroom of Professor Binns, twigs already attached using the Twigger88 attachment spell "acquired" from Draco Malfoy's sources. The tall dour elf, Lunker, was mumbling as his fingers waggled pointed at the stick, breath coming out in vaporous plums, his eyes closed and ears flat, head canted in concentration dictating to Rose.

It now was the Saturday morning before the test in front of the Ministry at noon and time was running out. After two hurried postponements they had reached the end of their abilities.

They had been at this for nearly an hour after starting back this morning and the list that Rose was furiously adding to was continued from the late hours the night before.

The still growing length was not encouraging.

Gas was seated in a window sill his feet drumming showing his nerves, it was his connections in the Ministry of Underage Magic that made this possible, and his honorary aunt's reputation was on the line. Rose had hissed at him twice to stop so she could concentrate but he was unable to for more than a minute or so.

Scorpius was staring at his broomstick with trepidation, possessiveness and an expression akin to awe.

The lines that Dinky had planned were all there, but the reality was even better than they had hoped, not the least was that Chrys had painted it a bright Hufflepuff yellow with black accents which caused the lines to stand out.

The Icarus appeared to vibrate with its own energy. The quality of her work was flawless, Albus had held the broom up to his nose and could not find a brush stroke that was apparent to the eye in the porcelain smooth finish, there was a reason Chrys Euryale was a world renowned artist, if her painting, not something she was not known for, was this wondrous, he could not wait to see her carvings!

She's beautiful isn't she?" Scorpius murmured for the seventh time that hour through chattering teeth.

Albus and Cormac exchanged a bemused glance, the half-Leprechaun with his Uncle Pat napping on his shoulder.

"I thought your grandfather said that Malfoys don't do yellow?" Albus needled through his shivers.

Scorpius shrugged, "Wouldn't be the first time grandfather and I've disagreed on things Malfoys don't do, yeah?"

Their sniggers were cut off by another indignant hiss from Rose.

Cormac's Uncle Pat made a croaking noise in his sleep, clearly bored with the proceedings. Unlike the rest of them, Cormac and his amphibious uncle seemed unaffected by the cold.

"Is he going to help us?" Scorpius inquired with a nod in the fat bullfrog's direction.

"He owes me one," Cormac replied in the uninformative way of his mother's people.

Scorpius and Albus exchanged a glance.

"You didn't make a deal with him!" Albus stridently demanded.

Cormac answered with an impatient glare as Rose stated loud enough for them to hear, "Repeat that last one Lunker, some people are being rude."

In unison Cormac, Scorpius and Albus stuck out their tongues, she went back to work with an offended sniff.

"This is going to work, right Albus?" Gas murmured, clearly cowed by Rose's ire.

"If it doesn't, we'll know soon enough," Albus remarked.

Gas blinked in confusion. "How?"

Albus grinned when he replied, "Well, it'll start raining Malfoys for one!"

Scorpius glowered while the other two laughed, Rose let out a snicker herself before bending back to the task.

They stood there fidgeting for a few more moments when Rose straightened up. "That's it, but I think this might be a bit of impossible," she remarked with a weary sigh dropping the parchment and quill on a nearby desk.

Albus glanced at the list and his stomach gave a lurch, she had covered nearly an entire scroll with hasty but legible scribbles.

"All of that went into a Firebolt?" he stated trying to keep the despair out of his voice.

"That's all that poor Lunker could find, Master Potter, I'm sure he missed other spells that were more subtle still and the young boy will fall to his death and it will all be Lunker's fault," stated the dour Elf with a drooping ear.

Rose patted him on his shoulder, "I've no doubt you read it perfectly, Lunker, no ones going to die because of you," she gave him a kiss on his left ear, a custom of deepest affection among elves. The solemn old boy tried to smile for her but it looked even more ghastly then his customary frown.

"I think we're done…I can't even pronounce some of these! If we cast any of these spells awry, she won't fly right, we just can't take the chance it will fail at the wrong moment," Scorpius replied with a sigh as he read the parchment.

Silence descended as Gas ground his teeth. "What will I tell my Aunt? She'll be down at the Pitch with a contingent from the Ministry on her word alone, her career will be finished!"

Albus saw something out of the corner of his eye, Cormac's spring grass green eyes lit up for a moment, and his uncle opened his bulging eyes and winked.

"Lunker suggests, and he is probably wrong mind you…that you could just wake it up," the elf stated in his usual ominous tones.

"Wake what up?" Albus inquired, his heart leaping in his chest.

Lunker's watery eyes were actually twinkling as he replied. "There is a big spell tying all the other ones together; Lunker has only sensed it in wands before, reenergize that spell the other ones will be activated as well and pull the others together as easily as an elf putting on shoes…if Lunker wore shoes that is," he added with a nose crinkle at the thought.

Rose brightened up immediately. "If Firebolts all have a wand core…"

"He coupled the speed of a racing broom with the partial intelligence of a wand, Fireston Pratt was brilliant," Albus agreed feeling the presence of his own wand in his robe pocket, "I wonder why no one has figured it out before us?"

"You know us arrogant Wizards, no one has ever thought to ask an elf, right Lunker?" Rose replied giving the old elf an affectionate squeeze, causing him to blush as dourly as possible.

Scorpius let out a whoop that shocked them all. "I knew something was different!" he crowed, "When I flew your dad's Firebolt last year, It didn't feel comfortable at first, but I thought it was just my nerves, but once I made that first climb, it began obeying my commands almost before I made them."

"The wand is an extension of the wizard that holds it, it is not merely tool, but a partnership," Gas recited.

They all stared at him until he looked up and immediately blushed, "I've wanted to be a Wandsmith since I was little, I've read every book on the subject I could find, I practically memorized the English translation of Gregorovitch's book, "_The Wand Majestique," _I love everything about them, probably why I'm so good with one."

Albus turned to Cormac, "So all of a sudden we get the revelation of the secret of the Firebolt that no one has suspected for decades, and there just happens to be a well read expert in our midst…how lucky is that?"

Cormac gave him a look like he was daft. "Albus…Ya know, there's na such thing as luck, right?"

Gas gaped at Albus in alarm. "W-wait a minute! Back up Albus, w-what do you mean expert…I'm no expert!"

"Closest thing we've got, mate," Scorpius stated with a slap on the pudgy boy's back.

Rose was scanning the list furiously trying to disprove Lunker's information but then she saw something near the bottom of the list. "There it is, the _Locomotor Icantatum, _a spell always found in wands!I've seen it in my reading." She turned to Gas. "Do you know the _Restoratum Incatatum_?"

"Sure…you have to know that spell when you fix a wand. After the damage is repaired you have to reawaken the consciousness, it's like they go into a coma until they can be repaired," Gas replied.

Rose and Albus locked eyes; suddenly she gave him her patented nose crinkle with a sly smile that all Weasley's knew from birth.

He nodded back. "Let's do it."

"B-but…what if I goof it up?" Gas stammered wiping his cherry red runny nose on a sleeve.

Albus turned to him. "You always say we underestimate you, well this is your moment to shine. What you've got to decide is if you believe what you've been telling us the last few months, because we're all convinced."

Gas closed his eyes, let out a breath. "Harry Potter…surrounded and trapped in the graveyard….time to find out what I'm made of."

He opened them and a new determination touched his features as he let out a long sighing breath and stated, "Stand back, please"

Albus and the others gave him room as he pushed up his sleeves and with that perfect flourish that only he possessed out of the entire class, he produced his wand and waved it in a counter clockwise turn, the turn indicating the reversal of something, and then called out, "C_onscientia __E__xcitanda__" _they all felt a change in the room as the magic took hold, suddenly the broom began to float on its own before settling back against the wall.

"I think it worked," Gas stated with a weary sigh.

"Only one way to find out," Scorpius replied as he strode to the broom.

Albus stopped him with a hand on his arm. "We have a test pilot coming, "One who can apparate from midair to the ground if he needs to."

"But, most likely, he'll ride it all the way down, if I know him," Rose replied with a snigger.

Lunker winced. "Tell Dinky, Lunker said hello."

~o~

The day had that cusp of near winter chill about it, the dirty cotton clouds carpeting the sky promised that the ground would soon know the grace of white.

Everyone around the Pitch was bundled and huddling together in gaggles of conversation.

Gas was not happy to find that his mum was among the onlookers when the ministry arrived, he made his way over for a scolding by the scowl on her face.

To Albus's chagrin he also saw Krystolph Kerry, Kian's dad, with the contingent, he was tall and handsome but pale skinned and dark headed like his son, in a flown back style only available with persons with more knutes than sense.

He gave Albus and company a dismissive look that was far from companionable.

The message was clear, if anything went awry with this test in the slightest, he would be looking for any excuse to deny the petition. Scorpius was an obstacle keeping his son from being a star, and Kian's success would mean political success for him, which Albus had no doubt that was his chief concern, certainly not his son's sense of well being.

He saw his dad, Harry Potter, escorting an elderly woman, her eyes were on the broom that was currently being examined out on the Pitch by Victor Krum and the supposed Ministry specialist on broom safety, a cheerful little wizard so rotund that Albus doubted there was a broom with charms with a strong enough lift to get him off the ground, so he found the man's qualifications dubious at best.

"There's your dad, where's mine?" Scorpius grumbled.

He and his group were well away from the proceedings so that they could not influence the decision one way or another.

His Uncle George suddenly sidled up to his nephew wearing a black fur-lined robe with the tails still attached and moving.

"We need to talk…" he began.

"We can't put the stamp of Tri-Twigger on the broom because of certain patents that are still on the Firebolt," Albus concluded having realized the snag in their plans as they were making their way down.

His Uncle stared at him mouth agape. "How did you know?"

"I'd need the Widow Pratt's permission to tell you," he replied indicating the elderly woman on his father's arm, whose identity he guessed.

"Why even do the test then?" his uncle grumbled.

"Because if it doesn't fly then the point is moot, but if it does, we'll have to figure something out," Rose interjected.

"Which we will, or at least Albus will," Scorpius interjected with more confidence then he was probably feeling.

Uncle George eyed the three students with trepidation, and amusement with unmistakable fondness beneath. "You three remind me of me and Fred when we were your age, there was never any obstacle we couldn't wheedle our way out of."

"We have to see if she'll fly first," Albus murmured nervously, trying to keep his stomach calm.

"We're about to find out," George stated and pointed.

Krum and the rotund Ministry official were waving the pilot to the broom. The little singed elf looked excited as he popped his goggles on over his eyes and pulled his customary rubber gloves up to his bony elbows; he gave them a salute and mounted. He was wearing a fur lined bomber jacket with "Crash Test Elf" written on the back in bold caution yellow letters with a grotesque bandaged dead elf head depicted, tongue protruding.

"You did tell Dinky that the idea is for this broom to fly, not crash, right?" Rose inquired with a nervous quaver.

Her Uncle George shrugged as he answered, "He's supposed to push it as far as it will go to be sure, because I doubt The "Mad-Man" over there will be taking it easy."

Scorpius grinned at the nick name as Rose remarked, "Good point."

Albus felt another presence and turned to see that Diana and Corny had strolled up with Icky and the Sisters in tow. They settled in a few bleachers up and watched the Pitch. Albus was not sure they were there to support or kill them if they failed from the serious expressions on all their faces, particularly scary since the Sisters were wearing game makeup. A quick glance around the Pitch stands revealed that all the Quidditch teams had turned out to watch.

Over with the Slytherins, Kian did not appear happy his father was participating in the proceedings glowering at his pater with an anger black as his robes.

Elanor Ferraro in her bunch of Ravenclaws watched with a bemusement that caused a part of Albus to stir that he had not felt since that day with James. His eyes found Diana's dark ones, also focused on the blue trimmed bunch and they exchanged a nod that if the broom flew, there would be a reckoning later that day.

The entire Gryffindor team turned out, since they were mostly Weasleys anyway, cheering on Dinky who was just as much a family member as any one of them.

In that demented little fellow, George found a muse for his own madness, they fed off of one another and the products produced were the most popular in the Isle.

Anything bought from Tri-W could succeed brilliantly or put you into St. Mungos just as easily, and that extra possibility added to the appeal. Why settle for normal everyday products when you could feel that surge of excitement…and worry for one's own safety?

With no preamble Dinky kicked off and for the next fifteen minutes he pushed the yellow broom in ways that Albus had never contemplated. Albus could barely watch as the elf tried every trick in his arsenal to fatally hit the ground with no success. While he was flinching Scorpius was taking notes.

"Wow that was an inverted loop with a Bellwinder twist right into a half Coaster, never seen that before," he noted.

Rose glowered at him. "Might I remind you of the physics, that crazy little elf weighs at least six stone less than you, and is much smaller so can generate more centripetal force, if you tried that maneuver we'd be visiting you in St. Mungo's after you bashed yourself into unrecognizable paste on the Pitch floor!"

"Wait a moment…" Scorpius glanced around, "I thought I heard someone expressing concern for my welfare, yes, I think that's what I heard! But, that can't be right!"

Rose just crossed her arms and glowered.

Albus realized with a start that the plan had worked! Deep down he thought they would fail, but he saw Dinky finally land and throw his goggles off in frustration confirming that they had a new problem to overcome.

There was cheering from Fred, James and the girls, and they all went out to the Pitch to comfort Dinky who was walking away dejected. Albus shook his head ruefully at the nutty little creature's despondency that he was not on his way to St. Mungos.

The council all walked out to Krum and the Ministry official as they examined the broom post flight, the decision would be made soon, but the issue of manufacturer would be brought up sooner than later.

Albus wished that he had brought the Extendable Ears because the discussion became heated between the perspective members and that did not bode well.

It was then that Albus noticed his father was walking out with Firestone Pratt's widow.

The council saw him approaching and made way for the great Harry Potter, even those who were political rivals and had not respect for the changes his presence had wrought in the Wizard world and acknowledged his status, of course Krystolph Kerry's respect was begrudged from his glower.

Rose tugged Albus's sleeve. "What's Uncle Harry up to?"

"He's Harry Potter," Gas interjected breathlessly, "whatever it is, you know it's gonna be brilliant!"

Scorpius nudged Gas. "Why Gaspar, I had no idea you were a Harry Potter fan!"

Gas gave him a glower which made him smile.

Then to their surprise Harry took the broom from Krum's hand with an exchanged nod of respect and mounted up.

There was a collective gasp as the most recognizable figure in their world took flight and showed why he was still a legend at Hogwarts at Seeker.

The broom responded effortlessly as Albus got a view of his father as a younger man soaring through the blue, swooping so low the grass parted in his wake, weaving through the pennants lining the pitch with a dazzling grace, Albus glanced at Scorpius and saw his friend staring at his distant father with a reverent awe.

"Harry Potter is flying at Hogwarts, and I'm here!" Gaspar murmured before Albus heard the thump of his body striking the turf, they were all so mesmerized that they just let him lie.

With a noticeable reluctance Harry Potter landed and handed the broom back to Krum his eyes bright emeralds and cheeks wind-burned pink.

His display seemed to remove any lingering doubts as the council and the expert they brought began to disperse, Krystolph and a couple others with a dejected look on their faces. Gaspar's mum glanced over and frowned with satisfaction that Gas was not in sight before she disappeared with the rest.

Albus's dad waved them over with a smile which wrung one from his son's lips.

"Sorted," he announced in a sing song voice as they arrived with a woozy recently revived Gaspar in tow. Albus noticed the widow examining the broom with a wistful smile.

"How did she fly?" Scorpius demanded rudely pushing his way to the front, his face happier than Albus had ever seen him.

"See for yourself," Albus's dad responded tossing the broom to the younger Malfoy.

In his eagerness Scorpius almost seemed to mount the broom in mid air and was soon soaring above them with joyful abandon that Albus knew he would always remember.

"How did you get past the problem with the manufacturer, Uncle Harry," Rose inquired while the others watched Scorpios soar, being practical as always.

"Lady Pratt here has given her consent as the sole remaining stockholder of The Firebolt Corporation. Lady and gentlemen, you are looking at the Firebolt Icarus, a recently discovered prototype, originated initially on a Fireston Pratt design, at least that is all the council needed to know," Harry announced with a grin to make Uncle George envious.

"But…but that…that's a lie, Uncle Harry," Rose sputtered scandalized.

Her uncle looked nonplussed as he replied, "Fireston Pratt created the original broom, his handiwork is still in every step of the creation, as far as I see it, you and your lot just replaced the bristles and changed the aesthetics, but it's still recognizably a Firebolt, the alterations make just enough difference to call it a prototype…I never said anything about the changes being Fireston's."

"You all did such a wonderful job; Fireston would have given his wholehearted approval, I have no doubts," Widow Pratt said in a still youthful soprano accompanied with a wistful sigh, "the fact that a Firebolt is going to be flown in competition and not gathering dust on a shelf would have pleased him greatly. That's all he ever wanted. I know the current "protected" state of his creations would have made him miserable. I am, however, curious to hear how the different bristle and shape will affect the performance, you will send me an owl?" she inquired of Harry and a newly arrived breathless Scorpius who had landed a few steps away, with a smile that would have to be spelled off.

Harry Potter and Scorpius both nodded after exchanging a smile that only men of a shared experience know. "Your dad sent an owl, couldn't be involved, but he's got eyes here," he told the young man with a wink. "Figures," Scorpius replied with a smirk, but the little grin showed he was relieved.

The widow grew quiet and leaned in to Harry Potter's ear; he nodded to Albus and his group and walked a discreet distance away to give Uncle George the specifics.

Mrs. Pratt waited until he was a safe distance away before she leaned in. "You figured it out? You must have if the broom is flying. I need to know how you guessed it when no one else ever has."

"An elf helped us with reading the spells," Albus admitted.

She smiled and winked. "Elves are the only ones who can decipher Elvish magic, who do you think we used as a work force to make the brooms in the first place? Using an elf was a lucky happenstance on your part."

"No such thing as luck, Mrs. Pratt, right Cormac?" Albus replied.

Cormac shook his head adamantly causing Mrs. Pratt to chuckle. "Well be that as it may, good luck to you all; you have my and Fireston's blessing. Please allow me to do the honor…"

With an expert flourish and a wave of her wand the Tri-Twigger logo changed to perfect Firebolt lettering that seeped up from under the paint.

"No Firebolt lettering is ever lost, there is an indelible charm that prevents it," she explained with a smile.

"Welcome to the Firebolt legacy."

She left them in a flash of apparition, as they studied the Firebolt logo which had changed to black to match the paint, they all exchanged incredulous glances, Scorpius now had his own Firebolt.

Scorpius cradled the broom protectively as they made their way over to where the Hufflepuff Quidditch team was gathered.

Diana looked grim. "It flies, yeah?"

"Ready for action," Scorpius crowed.

She nodded as if speaking to herself, "It's time I do something I swore I would never do, this is by far the worst thing I have ever done, but they drove me to it, even if we all get suspended it's time to cross a line."

She turned to Violet and Valencia. "Girls, this next game only…feel free to do your worst…no restrictions. Merlin have mercy on Ravenclaw's souls."

Violet translated for her sister and she lit up like it was Christmas morn and she got everything she ever wanted.

It was the single most terrifying thing that Albus had ever seen.

* * *

**Thought of the Day: **I watched the last Harry Potter with a friend of mine who knows my work with the the Next Generation, oddly, she thought just from the brief glance we have of Scorpius and Draco that in that fleeting glimpse we have the entirety of what I have attempted to do with our favorite tow-headed boy. She told me that she saw the pain, wounded pride, and fear for the future that I have imprinted in my Malfoy family in that exchanged nod between Malfoy and Potter. I think she reads a lot into things myself LOL! I have to say that Tom Felton and Daniel Radcliffe managed to exchange a lot in that pregnant glance, feel free to comment. Is she onto something or being nutty as usual?


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